This article was originally posted on VOA and translated by OKN Correspondent.
U.S. prosecutors have demanded up to six and a half years in prison and a $1 million fine against Virgil Griffith for assisting North Korea to avoid sanctions using cryptocurrency. They also disclosed additional charges of attempting to remit cryptocurrency to North Korea using South Korea in the past, saying he was fully aware of this illegal act. Ham Ji-ha reports.
U.S. prosecutors have called Griffith’s act a serious crime and demanded severe punishment against him for illegally entering North Korea and for providing information on how to evade sanctions.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York submitted to the court on March 18 that they seek sentences ranging from 63 to 78 months in prison to reflect the serious nature of these illegal acts, promote respect for the law, and prevent others from assisting unstable and violent regimes.
In addition, they requested an additional fine of $1 million.
Prosecutors stressed that Griffith is “an American who chose to evade sanctions to serve hostile countries,” pointing out that he also was aware of North Korea was committing atrocities against its citizens and threatening the United States with its nuclear capabilities.
In addition, he not only provided services related to sanctions violations through his visit to North Korea but also recognized that his expertise in cryptocurrency would be used to avoid sanctions by North Korea.
Griffith, a developer of cryptocurrency at Ethereum, was arrested by U.S. agents in November 2019 on charges related to his attendance at a cryptocurrency conference in Pyongyang, North Korea in April 2019, and he pled guilty in September last year after a two-year legal battle.
Earlier this month, Griffith’s lawyer asked the court for a two-year sentence, citing his deep remorse for his actions.
In a separate letter, Griffith also expressed his regret over his visit to North Korea, saying, “The foolishness and stupidity of my decision to travel to North Korea surprise me even now.”
However, prosecutors have demanded a sentence up to three times heavier than Griffith’s lawyer has hoped for, citing that the sentence set for violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which Griffith admitted to, ranges from 63 to 78 months.
There is much attention to what the court will decide as the final sentence hearing is scheduled to be held on April 12.
The prosecutors also disclosed specific circumstances in which Griffith attempted to transfer cryptocurrency to North Korea using South Korea.
During this process, the existence of South Korean contacts who assisted Griffith was also revealed.
According to the prosecution, Griffith allegedly sent an email to a South Korean business contact named ‘CC-5’ in June 2018, about a year before he visited North Korea, asking for cooperation in setting up an Ethereum node in North Korea, a kind of network that handles cryptocurrency transactions.
In response, the South Korean contact said in an email reply that the South Korean government is open to supporting the Ethereum Foundation to which Griffith has ties, adding, “There was a plan to support the Ethereum Research Center (in Seoul) and establish an institution in North Korea.”
However, the contact said in an email in July 2018, “The idea of setting up a North Korean node has been considered, but the Kaesong Industrial Complex in North Korea wants to focus only on manufacturing goods,” adding, “That is why this idea should be postponed for the moment, but I believe it will be feasible in the long-run.”
In August 2019, Griffith also said in a conversation with an unidentified person that he would like to transfer Ethereum currency of 1 Ether (ETH) between North Korea and South Korea and that he would “have Koreans make remittances” to avoid problems over sanctions violations.
A few days after [this alleged conversation], Griffith pushed for a plan to remit cryptocurrency to North Korea using a South Korean citizen referred to as “Individual-6” as an agent.
As a result, prosecutors argued that Griffith was aware of his involvement in violating sanctions before and after his visit to North Korea.
The prosecution also disclosed that Griffith and others tried to get assistance from the Seoul Metropolitan Government about the issue of setting up an Ethereum node in North Korea in September of last year.
According to the filing, Griffith mentioned the “Seoul mayor” while communicating with a suspected Ethereum official in a Telegram message on August 17, 2018, “He said it is not impossible to install a node in North Korea,” adding, “South Korea seems to be allowed to violate such sanctions.”
To read the original article in Korean, please click here.
