A federal court in New York has sentenced former Ethereum Foundation researcher Virgil Griffith to 63 months in prison for traveling to North Korea to give a presentation on how to use digital assets to circumvent sanctions. Was handed down.
Griffith was found guilty of conspiracy in September 2021 for violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the basic law that strengthens US sanctions.
The indictment arose from Griffith’s decision to attend a meeting in Pyongyang in early 2019 when Griffith was still an employee of the Ethereum Foundation. So he gave a presentation on blockchain technology. The trip was a clear breach of US sanctions against the Kingdom of North Korea’s hermitage, and the US State Department rejected Griffith’s previous request for permission to visit North Korea.
In making the decision, Judge Castel rejected the proposal that Griffith’s actions “goed in the wrong direction.”
“The fact of the matter is that Virgil Griffith … wanted to return to Singapore or elsewhere as a crypto hero. He faced government sanctions because of his fearlessness and integrity. To be praised and praised in. “
This is a purpose commonly expressed in certain corners of the digital asset space, and the ability of blockchain technology to allow users to ignore the law is considered a valuable purpose in its own right. I am. The fact that the law enforcement agency acted very quickly to arrest Griffith (and the end result of Griffith was very decisive) should be a welcome refusal to such an attitude.
Indeed, and perhaps most importantly, the prosecutor has revealed that further charges will be filed against Griffith’s conspirators. According to Griffith’s indictment, the accused colluded with “other known and unknown people” to violate US sanctions. These conspirators helped Griffith travel to North Korea and impressed the need to show to those whom Griffith met in North Korea that blockchain could be used to avoid money laundering and sanctions. ..
It is unknown whether the conspirators are employees of other Ethereum Foundations.
Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin while Griffith waits for his day in court Protected His colleague on Twitter shared a petition to “liberate” Virgil Griffith, and I believe his followers “what Virgil did did really help North Korea to do bad things.” No, “guaranteed.
Despite Buterin’s defense, and despite any of the pain Griffith is currently expressing, both are hollow, given the level of malice aforethought apparent from the prosecution’s case.
In 2018, when he was hired by the Ethereum Foundation, Griffith had a plan to provide people in North Korea with services to support the development of digital asset functions. According to a text message revealed by the prosecution, he told a friend, “I want to make an Ethereum trip to North Korea and set up an Ethereum node … which will help them circumvent the current sanctions against them.” Told.
A text message revealed at the complaint show tells an unnamed companion that a “code” needs to be sent between North Korea and South Korea. When the Associate asked if it was a violation of sanctions, Griffith said, “Yes.”
In addition, Griffith was sent to jail months after his arrest for violating US $ 1 million bail terms. The former Ethereum developer tried to access the ETH held in his Coinbase account, which clearly violates these bail terms. Judge Castel, hearing the breach, called the attempt by Griffith’s defense team to explain the attempt “probably not true” and “story.”
Griffith was also found bragging about the incident to hotel staff after his first arrest.
Judge Castel said these factors would make it unclear whether the regret expressed by Griffith was genuine.
follow CoinGeek Cryptographic Crime Cartel From a series that delves into the flow of the group BitMEX To Binance, Bitcoin.com, Blockstream, ShapeShift, Coinbase, Ripple,
Ethereum, FTX When Tether— Those who have embraced the digital asset revolution and transformed the industry into a minefield for naive (and experienced) players in the market...
New to Bitcoin? Check out CoinGeek’s Bitcoin for beginners The ultimate resource guide to learn more about sections, Bitcoin (originally conceived by Satoshi Nakamoto) and blockchain.
