Virgil Griffith, who helped North Korea evade US sanctions, has been sentenced to more than five years in prison.
Former Ethereum developer Virgil Griffith, who has admitted to aiding North Korea, has been sentenced to 63 months in prison at a New York courthouse. Apart from this, a fine of one lakh dollars has also been imposed on him.
As reported by U.Today, Griffith surprisingly pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate sanctions laws last September. This comes after his motion to dismiss last January was rejected.
The Ethereum developer was arrested by US authorities in November 2019 after traveling to North Korea and making a presentation at a local cryptocurrency conference attended by government officials. Griffith’s speech focused on how the Kim Jong-un regime could bypass US sanctions. Their defense team unsuccessfully tried to argue that their cryptocurrency talk was protected by the First Amendment and that the developer only shared publicly available information material with the DPRK.
The US banned Americans from visiting North Korea in 2017. The State Department declined Griffith’s request to travel to a blockchain conference hosted by the “Hermit Kingdom”, but Ethereum developer managed to get there via China. Griffith tried to get other Americans to attend the convention with him as well. He was accused of endangering America’s national securityEthereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin distanced himself and the Ethereum Foundation from the unfortunate journey, clarifying that many had advised him against the risky attempt. Nevertheless, Buterin signed a petition in support of Griffth, which did not gain much traction.
Griffith faced 20 years behind bars, but he avoided the harshest sentence by deciding to tempt his fate with a jury trial and agreeing to a plea deal.