Virgil Griffith, who lives in Singapore, has been cited in violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and was formally charged by the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, which was working in conjunction with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), according to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). “As alleged, Virgil Griffith provided highly technical information to North Korea, knowing that this information could be used to help North Korea launder money and evade sanctions. In allegedly doing so, Griffith jeopardized the sanctions that both Congress and the president have enacted to place maximum pressure on North Korea’s dangerous regime,” said U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman.

The unsealed indictment was announced by Berman, along with John C. Demers, assistant attorney general for national security; John Brown, the assistant director of the FBI counterintelligence division; and William F. Sweeney Jr., the assistant director-in-charge of the New York Field Office for the FBI. According to the DOJ, Griffith traveled to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) to attend and present at the Pyongyang Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Conference earlier this year. Allegedly, he was denied permission from the U.S. Department of State to travel to into the DPRK, and in doing so, knowingly violated international sanctions. He was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport.

From Twitter
Master Kula @master_kula
"North Koreans ‘Can Own Crypto,’ Pyongyang to Host Crypto Conference - North Korea will host a second “international blockchain and cryptocurrency conference” in February 2020.”

“Despite receiving warnings not to go, Griffith allegedly traveled to one of the United States’ foremost adversaries, North Korea, where he taught his audience how to use blockchain technology to evade sanctions. By this complaint, we begin the process of seeking justice for such conduct,” Demers says.

According to the DOJ announcement, Griffith worked toward a fintech-driven currency exchange between North Korea and South Korea, knowing that exchange would aid in the evasion of the sanctions. If he is found guilty of conspiring to violate the IEEPA, Griffith could face a maximum of 20 years in prison. According to the IEEPA and Executive Order 13466, “United States Persons are prohibited from exporting any goods, services, or technology to the DPRK without a license from Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control.”

“There are deliberate reasons sanctions have been levied on North Korea. The country and its leader pose a literal threat to our national security and that of our allies,” said Sweeney Jr. “Mr. Griffith allegedly traveled to North Korea without permission from the federal government, and with knowledge what he was doing was against the law. We cannot allow anyone to evade sanctions, because the consequences of North Korea obtaining funding, technology, and information to further its desire to build nuclear weapons put the world at risk. It’s even more egregious that a U.S. citizen allegedly chose to aid our adversary.”

Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Etherum, took to the internet to defend Griffith, but noted the Ethereum Foundation (EF) had nothing to do with the trip: “Conflict-of-interest disclosure: Virgil is my friend … this whole thing has nothing to do with EF. EF paid nothing and offered no assistance; it was Virgil's personal trip that many counseled against,” he said in a Twitter post.

From Twitter

vitalik.eth @VitalikButerin

I refuse to take the convenient path of throwing Virgil under the bus, because I firmly believe that that would be wrong. I'm signing.