Ethereum developer Virgil Griffith received five years in prison for the illegal help of the DPRK with cryptocurrencies

He must also pay 100 thousand dollars of a fine.

The American programmer, one of the developers of Ethereum, Virgil Griffith, sentenced to 63 months in prison and 100 thousand dollars of a fine for the help of North Korea in bypassing US sanctions with the help of cryptocurrency. This is reported by NBC News and The Wall Street Journal .

According to the investigation, in 2018, Griffith began consultations in North Korea. Despite the ban on the entrance to the DPRK, he came through China to Pyongyang and took part in conferences on cryptocurrencies and blockchain DPRK Blockchain Conference. The programmer advised North Korea how to use cryptocurrencies and blockchain to wash money and bypass American sanctions. According to the prosecutor, he threatened the US security.

Griffith threatened up to 20 years in prison. The deadline was reduced due to several circumstances. The programmer went on a deal with the investigation and pleaded guilty. The court also took into account that Griffith spent two years under arrest in “inhuman” conditions: he sat in a single chamber for a long time due to the spread of coronavirus, did not see his family, received food twice a day, which was mainly from sandwiches with peanut oil and jelly.

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