Virgil Griffith, a top researcher at the Ethereum Foundation, who was charged by the U.S. Federal Attorney’s Office on suspicion of providing North Korea with information on money laundering using crypto assets and violating US Sanctions, has pleaded guilty to the case.
The former developer violated the International Emergency Economic Powers Act by giving a presentation on cryptocurrency and blockchain at a North Korean cryptocurrency conference in November 2019.
The prosecutor’s office noted that Griffith has communicated how North Korea can use cryptocurrencies to escape economic sanctions, putting US national security at risk.
John Demers, an assistant attorney general for national security said at the time:
“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.”
Griffith said he knew that providing information about cryptocurrencies to North Korea could be used for nuclear weapons and other illegal activities.
Journalist Ethan Lou, who attended the hearing, recounted his meeting with Griffith. He wrote on Twitter:
“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 of the remote testimony of an Ethereum Foundation lawyer.”
According to a survey by the United Nations Security Council, North Korea has illegally acquired approximately $300 million worth of cryptocurrencies from 2019 to 2020 through a hacker group “Lazarus”.
