The Virgil Griffith saga has concluded after the former Ethereum developer was handed a five-year sentence.
Why Virgil Griffith Has Been Jailed
In Late 2019, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York and the FBI alleged that Griffith had provided North Korea with assistance on how to evade sanctions. He was placed under arrest for violating US sanctions laws.
At the time, a friend of his, Wills Bentley de Vogeleare, denied the allegations made by the FBI. He claimed that Griffith had gone to North Korea to talk about Ethereum, just like he had done at many other conferences globally. However, it appears the FBI was unconvinced by this explanation.
After spending a few weeks in custody, Griffith eventually made bail. He had to deposit a $1 million bond and stay at his parents’ property. For the bond, his sister and father had offered up their houses as collateral.
Initially, his bail was denied after authorities claimed that he had renounced his citizenship, and planned to move to North Korea to operate a money-laundering scheme. His lawyer argued that Griffith had not taken any steps to actualize these sentiments. Besides that, he argued that his client was not facing money laundering charges. While most people associated with Ethereum at the time chose to remain silent, Vitalik Buterin, one of the founders of the project, publicly expressed support for Griffith.
His Sentencing
According to an announcement by the Department of Justice, Griffith has been sentenced to over five years in prison and given a hefty $100,000 fine. He was accused of advising over 100 people at the conference, several of whom appeared to work for the North Korean government on how crypto could be used to evade sanctions and achieve independence from the global financial system. In 2018, before Griffith went to North Korea, the US had amended sanctions to prohibit US citizens from exporting technology to the hermit kingdom.
Brian Klein, his defense attorney, said that Griffith was a brilliant scientist trained at Caltech, who developed a “curiosity bordering on obsession” With North Korea. According to Klein, Griffith thought he was acting in the interest of peace. He added that Griffith loved his country and never set out to harm it. Earlier on, Klein pointed out that Griffith had worked with the FBI, and educated law enforcement on the dark web. He added that he was disappointed with the sentence Griffith had received. Griffith was facing a maximum of 20 years in federal prison. However, he pled guilty, which might have played a part in his reduced sentence.
Griffith rose to fame in the 2000s when he invented a tool called WikiScanner, which could unmask people who made anonymous edits on Wikipedia. The tool quickly identified businesses sabotaging their competitors and government agencies that tried to rewrite history.
Notice: Information contained herein is not and should not be construed as an offer, solicitation, or recommendation to buy or sell securities. The information has been obtained from sources we believe to be reliable; however, no guarantee is made or implied with respect to its accuracy, timeliness, or completeness. Authors may own the cryptocurrency they discuss. The information and content are subject to change without notice. Visionary Financial and its affiliates do not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice.
This material has been prepared for informational purposes only and is the opinion of the author, and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, investment, tax, legal, accounting advice. You should consult your own investment, tax, legal, and accounting advisors before engaging in any transaction. All content published by Visionary Financial is not an endorsement whatsoever. Visionary Financial was not compensated to submit this article Please also visit our Privacy policy; disclaimer; and terms and conditions page for further information.
