Former Binance CEO Offered $4.5B Bail to Leave for UAE

In December 2023, despite proposing to pay a bail of $4.5 billion, former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao was denied permission by the court to return to the UAE. This information was documented in the case materials.

CZ had sought to leave the country on January 4 for a few weeks due to the need for “hospitalization and surgery” of a loved one.

The proposed collateral was evaluated based on Binance’s most recent funding round, which put the company’s equity capital at $4.5 billion.

The request was brought before Judge Richard Jones in a closed hearing, and ultimately denied. This was not the first time authorities had rejected CZ’s request to leave the country since early December.

The current ruling requires him to remain in the United States until a meeting scheduled for February 23, 2024.

According to Johnson’s order, CZ “has significant wealth and assets overseas, and has no ties to the United States. His family resides in the UAE, and [CZ] seems to have a privileged status. Considering these factors, the court finds that the defendant has not provided sufficient evidence to prove his intention to return.”