Former Ethereum developer received five years in prison for collaborating with the DPRK

Virgil Griffith was also fined $100 000 after pleading guilty to conspiracy to help North Korea evade sanctions

13.04.2022 - 12:20

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What’s new? On April 12, a US court sentenced former Ethereum developer Virgil Griffith to 63 months in prison and a $100 000 fine for providing the DPRK with information on the use of blockchain technologies and cryptocurrencies to circumvent sanctions imposed by the United States. This is reported on the US Department of Justice’s website.

The US Department of Justice’s website

The history of allegations. According to court documents, Griffith had been helping North Korea develop and fund cryptocurrency infrastructure and mining since 2018. In April 2019, the developer traveled to the DPRK to speak at the Pyongyang Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Conference, despite the US State Department denying him permission to travel. The Department of Justice reported that Griffith provided instructions at the conference on how the DPRK can use blockchain and cryptocurrencies to launder money and evade sanctions.

Virgil Griffith was arrested in November 2019 for violating US sanctions laws and ties with the DPRK. He was later charged with conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). In September 2021, Griffith pleaded guilty to conspiracy.

What is known about Griffith? Virgil Griffith is known as the creator of WikiScanner, an indexing tool for Wikipedia. He had been a researcher at the Ethereum Foundation since 2016.

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