Sanctions

In April 2022, a judge sentenced Virgil Griffith to 63 months in prison for violating U.S. sanctions on North Korea.

Officials with the United States Justice Department have written a letter opposing former Ethereum developer Virgil Griffith’s motion to reduce his 2022 sentence for violating sanctions on North Korea.

In a June 17 filing in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams argued that a judge should deny Griffith’s motion to reduce his sentence to as little as 51 months. A judge sentenced the former Ethereum developer to 63 months in prison and a $100,000 fine in April 2022, which, considering his time behind bars before the sentencing hearing, makes his expected release date in January 2026.

“Griffith chose to evade the sanctions of his own country to provide services to a hostile foreign power, specifically, services designed to teach and encourage the use of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology to further evade U.S. and United Nations sanctions,” said Williams. “Griffith acted despite knowing that North Korea was committing atrocities against its own people and had made threats against the United States, including nuclear capabilities.”

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