Ethereum developer accused of collaborating with DPRK to face trial in 2021
By: Koma Live
Tags: Developer, Ethereum, Cryptocurrency, Prison, Crypto

Ethereum developer accused of collaborating with DPRK to face trial in 2021

Image by Barbara Rosner from Pixabay

The US government intends to accuse Ethereum developer Virgil Griffith of providing information to North Korea. Court hearings are tentatively scheduled for September 2021.

In April 2019, Virgil Griffith attended a blockchain conference in Pyongyang, where he allegedly told representatives of the DPRK government about the possibility of using cryptocurrency to bypass sanctions and make cross-border transfers.

He did not have special permits from the US Department of Justice and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to visit North Korea and provide any services or goods.

In November of the same year, Griffith was arrested on charges of violating US sanctions laws but later released on bail of his sister and parents’ real estate worth $ 1 million.

In October 2020, Griffith’s representatives filed a motion to drop the charges. The document argued that Griffith’s transfer of publicly available information about blockchain technology was not providing services to the country, and the statements of the American authorities were based on assumptions, not facts.

US Army: about 6,000 hackers work for North Korea

On Tuesday, December 22, another hearing, in this case, took place in the Court of the Southern District of New York. Judge Kastel asked if the government plans to argue that the information disclosed in Griffith’s speech at the conference “goes beyond the existing capabilities of the DPRK blockchain and knowledge.”

The prosecution confirmed that they will not make this argument. Instead, prosecutors will provide evidence of how exactly Griffith’s speech and his responses to audience questions helped conference attendees understand how cryptocurrency works.

Although Judge Castel did not rule on the motion to drop charges against Griffith, he issued several new orders on minor issues about the case.

The judge rejected the defendant’s petition to disclose the identity of the witness, and also postponed a decision on the lawyers’ petition to search for additional information in government registers regarding the possibilities of using cryptocurrency to circumvent US financial sanctions.

Ethereum developer accused of ties to North Korea refused to admit his guilt

He also asked both parties to develop an agreement on this issue and submit it to court by January 25, 2021. Finally, the judge suggested a range of dates for the commencement of the trial on the merits. If the parties to the process agree with the proposed date, then the proceedings on this first of its kind case will begin in September 2021.

We will remind, last year in the UN Security Council said that the DPRK stole about $ 2 billion through cyberattacks on cryptocurrency exchanges and banks to further finance programs to create weapons of mass destruction.

Earlier this year, the US Department of Justice filed a lawsuit to confiscate funds from 280 cryptocurrency accounts. The department connects them with hacks carried out by hackers from the DPRK.