In Brief:
- Virgil Griffith, pleaded guilty for helping North Korea to evade US sanctions.
- He could face the punishment from 63 months to 78 months in prison.
- Griffith will be sentenced on January 18 of next year.
Virgil Griffith, an Ethereum developer has been found guilty of a federal charge that he helped North Korea to violate United States Sanction law.
Griffith had been scheduled for the trial on Monday. But before that, he appeared before District Judge P. Kevin Castel in Manhattan and admitted that he had violated the International Emergency Economic Powers Act under an agreement with prosecutors, according to court records.
The International Emergency Economic Powers Act forbids U.S. citizens from exporting technology and intellectual property to communist countries. As part of the plea deal, Griffith could face punishment in the range of 63 months to 78 months in prison. Formal sentencing will begin on 18 January 2022.
Virgil was the senior researcher in the Ethereum Foundation. He was arrested in November 2019 after giving a presentation on cryptocurrency and blockchain in front of the regime of Kim Jong Un in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang in April 2019. Prosecutors claimed that the developer had discussed the way to launder money and evade sanctions using blockchain technology.
Griffith was originally released on bail in 2020. He was taken back into custody on allegations of trying to violate his bail conditions. He tried to access his Coinbase account to pay his attorneys, which was considered a violation of the terms of his agreement.
Journalist Ethan Lou claims to have been in North Korea with Griffith when he gave the presentation. He said: “Virgil was quite emotional. Deep sighs sometimes when he spoke. Unclear what new development caused this guilty plea. The paperwork was signed only yesterday. One possible reason is the barring the remote testimony of an Ethereum Foundation lawyer.”
“Virgil is sincerely remorseful,” his lawyer, Brian Klein, said in a statement. “Setting aside what happened, he has made important contributions to society that we will raise with the court. He also has many wonderful qualities, and no one should define him by this mistake.”
