Katherine Ross

Ethereum developer Virgil Griffith, who is currently serving five years in prison, received a 10-year-long export privilege bar, according to the Department of Commerce.



Griffith, even after he is released from prison, “may not directly or indirectly participate in any way in any transaction involving any commodity, software or technology…exported or to be exported from the United States that is subject to the Regulations.”



Essentially, Griffith faces a bar on his export privileges as a US citizen.



“Based upon my review of the record, including Griffith&#8217;s submission, and consultations with BIS&#8217;s Office of Exporter Services, including its Director, and the facts available to BIS, I have decided to deny Griffith&#8217;s export privileges under the Regulations for a period of ten years from the date of Griffith&#8217;s conviction,” John Sonderman, the director of the Office of Export Enforcement, <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/05/12/2023-10105/in-the-matter-of-virgil-griffith-inmate-number-79038-112-fci-allenwood-low-federal-correctional">said</a>.&nbsp;



The order is in effect until April 12, 2032.



Last year, Griffith was sentenced to 63 months in prison – or five years – after he pled guilty to conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.



The act bars US citizens from exporting goods, services or technology to countries such as North Korea without a license from the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.



He also paid a $100,000 fine as part of his sentencing.&nbsp;



In 2018, Griffith put together <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/us-citizen-who-conspired-assist-north-korea-evading-sanctions-sentenced-over-five-years-and">plans</a> to provide services in North Korea, he developed and funded cryptocurrency infrastructure with the alleged knowledge that North Korea could then use the technology to bypass US sanctions.&nbsp;



“Watching Ukraine sanctions has shown me their value. I have been cured of my stubborn arrogance, and my obsession with North Korea. My career has been damaged. I’m sorry,” Griffith <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/virgil-griffith-sentenced-to-5-years-in-prison-in-n-korean-sanctions-case">said in court last year</a>.



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Ethereum

Imprisoned Ethereum Developer Virgil Griffith Faces 10-year Export Privilege Bar

Sebastian Sinclair

<div id="highlights-block_6267124a039ce" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>A citizen of Spain and a citizen of the UK have been charged for their alleged involvement</li>
 <li>The pair allegedly recruited convicted Ethereum software developer Virgil Griffith to travel to North Korea to provide crypto services</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Two men have been charged for conspiring with former Ethereum software developer Virgil Griffith over their alleged involvement in aiding North Korea to evade US sanctions, according to the US attorney&#8217;s office of the <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/us-attorney-announces-charges-against-two-european-citizens-conspiring-us-citizen" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Southern District of New York</a>.



Spanish citizen Alejandro Cao de Benos and UK citizen Christopher Emms are alleged to have conspired to violate sanctions by recruiting Griffith to provide crypto and blockchain technology services to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) in 2019.



Griffith, who said at a sentencing hearing earlier this month that he had learned his lesson, was jailed for <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/virgil-griffith-sentenced-to-5-years-in-prison-in-n-korean-sanctions-case/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">five years</a> after he was found guilty of traveling to North Korea to deliver a presentation based on publicly available information about open-source software.



The pair are alleged to have organized a &#8220;Pyongyang Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Conference&#8221; for the benefit of the DPRK and are purported to have recruited Griffith to provide services during the event. It is said Cao de Benos coordinated approval from the DPRK government for Griffith’s participation, the statement reads.



The US, which has economic sanctions in place against the DPRK over the country&#8217;s continued testing of prohibited nuclear-capable missiles, said Griffith had intentionally violated the sanctions under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.



The act prohibits US individuals from exporting goods, services or tech to the DPRK without express permission from the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.



&#8220;As alleged, Alejandro Cao de Benos and Christopher Emms conspired with Virgil Griffith…to teach and advise members of the North Korean government on cutting-edge cryptocurrency and blockchain technology all for the purpose of evading US sanctions meant to stop North Korea’s hostile nuclear ambitions,&#8221; US Attorney Damian Williams said.



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Alejandro Cao de Benos

Two Europeans Charged In US Over Virgil Griffith North Korea Sanctions Case

Macauley Peterson

<div id="highlights-block_6256c3bc19a35" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>“I have learned my lesson,” Griffith said at his sentencing hearing</li>
 <li>Griffith was “obsessed” with North Korea and was ideologically motivated, the judge said</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Software developer Virgil Griffith travelled to North Korea — officially known as the Democratic People&#8217;s Republic of Korea (DPRK) — in 2019 and delivered a presentation based on publicly available info about open-source software. But he did so against the expressed wishes of the US government, <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/press-release/file/1222646/download" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according to</a> the original criminal complaint. As a result, he was arrested upon his return to Los Angeles International Airport on conspiracy charges. Now with his sentencing, the case has finally come to a close.



Griffith <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/virgil-griffith-pleads-guilty-to-conspiracy-in-north-korea-sanctions-case/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">pleaded guilty</a> in September 2021 as the start of his trial in the Southern District of New York. He was sentenced on Tuesday to 63 months in prison and a $100,000 fine as a consequence of his violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which prohibits US persons from exporting any goods, services or technology to the DPRK without a license from the Treasury Department&#8217;s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).



At his sentencing hearing, US District Judge P. Kevin Castel said Griffith knew that his actions were illegal and hoped to become known as “a crypto hero” for going to a blockchain conference in Pyongyang anyway, the Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/cryptocurrency-guru-sentenced-to-more-than-five-years-in-prison-over-north-korea-trip-11649789150" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reports</a>.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">“Some say Mr. Griffith is being persecuted for promoting crypto. But that&#8217;s not what this case is about. He pled guilty the day before trial. It was an intentional violation of sanctions, which are intended to avoid military conflict,” the judge <a href="https://twitter.com/innercitypress/status/1513912033670008840" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>.</blockquote>



Griffith’s lawyers asked the judge for leniency considering the conditions of his incarceration, which included a stint at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where he suffered from COVID for three weeks.



Griffith, for his part, expressed remorse.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">&#8220;Watching Ukraine sanctions has shown me their value. I have been cured of my stubborn arrogance, and my obsession with North Korea. My career has been damaged. I&#8217;m sorry.&#8221;</blockquote>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">Griffith: Watching Ukraine sanctions has shown me their value. I have been cured of my stubborn arrogance, and my obsession with North Korea. My career has been damaged. I&#39;m sorry.&mdash; Inner City Press (@innercitypress) <a href="https://twitter.com/innercitypress/status/1513907198451142661?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 12, 2022</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



The US Attorney argued that, in light of US sanctions on Russia over the war in Ukraine, it was important to “send a message about not undermining sanctions regimes,” the Inner City Press <a href="https://twitter.com/innercitypress/status/1513910792768430084" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a>.



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