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Topic: Virgil Griffith sentenced to 63 months for helping DPKR avoid sanctions (Read 307 times)

hero member
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Before this happened, I actually met him in person in a blockchain summit organized by my colleagues held in Boracay Island, Philippines last January 2019. I was shocked to be honest in the initial news that he was arrested by the authorities due to what he has done in North Korea in avoiding international sanctions. Even a friend of mine who was once close to him also was shocked of this one.

I just don’t know what are his true intentions though knowing that it’s against the international laws. Maybe for monetary reasons? In my own gut feeling, I don’t think he is willing to come there just for nothing, so he’s possibly got paid to do it even he knows that it is in violation of the international laws.
legendary
Activity: 2758
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Know am six weeks late to this party but only found this out now. I actually remember this event, was a conference where he was a speaker a few years ago, back when Trump was friendly with DPRK boss and things were thawing and Iran sanctions were about to be lifted... Unlucky timing things fell apart really, remember he did get bail.

^ Speak for yourself about US definitions fitting the rest of us. I don't base everything on what any mighty person says, and the US isn't as "the voice of the world" as you might think it is. My own country until 2 years ago could travel to DPRK visa free, and I wager to say they're not even on the terror list of half the world's countries.

If you think 63 months is too lenient for teaching someone to evade sanctions, you shouldn't look into how long some convicted war criminals and child molesters have spent in prison.

Or how long any big bank CEO who's defrauded people of their life savings has ever spent behind bars.

That just might outrage the hell out of you.
hero member
Activity: 2562
Merit: 540
What can you say about this? is 63 months to lenient for this kind of case or his sentencing should be longer as he has assisted a known terrorist country?

If he really helped terrorists, then he really received too little punishment, considering how the USA treated terrorists until it declared the Taliban good guys. Maybe such punishment is somewhere on the trail of a softer policy towards such things, because there are fewer and fewer terrorists, and the machinery to fight them is massive.

Besides, by what definition is North Korea a terrorist country, because that’s what the mighty US says? Each country has the right to develop its own defense mechanisms that guarantee its security, otherwise it will be attacked and occupied.

Well we all based everything on what US says, they even blame the North Koreans for the recent hacks on the Ronin network of AXS.

So we can only read the lines here, but then again, just like the rest of you guys, that sentencing is too little for a guy that they think help their enemies to exploit cryptos to evade sanctions.
legendary
Activity: 2534
Merit: 1655
Why did he get 5 years in prison?
For saying that cryptocurrencies are not subject to US sanctions and for the photo next to the inscription "No sanctions". This is a common political case to intimidate their own citizens.

Well we can speculate that maybe this is the first time that he recklessly breaks the law by the US.

So 5 years, he has a lot of thinking in jail if it's worth to even try to help North Korea or will he do it again after he gets out of prison to make another "political move". But by that time then, everything has change already.

That is still a short amount of time, I mean one bitcoin cycle is 4 years right? So by the time he goes out, we may have enter a new cycle already and for sure he didn't missed any part of it (specially that we are somewhat in the bearish cycle). He is an intelligent person so he can cope with the lost time. This is just a slap in the wrist as far as his sentencing.
hero member
Activity: 2842
Merit: 772
Why did he get 5 years in prison?
For saying that cryptocurrencies are not subject to US sanctions and for the photo next to the inscription "No sanctions". This is a common political case to intimidate their own citizens.

Well we can speculate that maybe this is the first time that he recklessly breaks the law by the US.

So 5 years, he has a lot of thinking in jail if it's worth to even try to help North Korea or will he do it again after he gets out of prison to make another "political move". But by that time then, everything has change already.
legendary
Activity: 1694
Merit: 4213
Why did he get 5 years in prison?
For saying that cryptocurrencies are not subject to US sanctions and for the photo next to the inscription "No sanctions". This is a common political case to intimidate their own citizens.
hero member
Activity: 2758
Merit: 595
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Its also a wonder how they see North Korea a terrorist, the people there are struggling from illed Kim, aren't we suppose to be humanitarian and instead give them rights to trade NOT sanctions.

What can you say about this? is 63 months to lenient for this kind of case or his sentencing should be longer as he has assisted a known terrorist country?
A court decision has been made for Griffith, as far as I know, from a five year lawsuit, the court gave Griffith a lesser sentence than demanded, only 63 months in prison.

If you look at Griffith's journey in helping North Korea only to train North Koreans in the immunity of the global banking system and to avoid sanctions in using crypto, but in the case of Griffith, there are pros and cons to the punishment that has been assigned to him, the US believes that Griffith's behavior could threaten global peace from a nuclear point of view, I think this punishment for Griffith is due to the selfishness of North Korea against the rejection of international sanctions.

I've read history about other countries doing the same thing as Griffith did in helping and evading sanctions in the same way clandestinely, strangely very few Americans are involved and do it in cases like this, I also wonder why Griffith dares to help North Korea which is clearly against international law.

I think this sentence is very light, most likely the US courts have other reasons behind the lightness of Griffith's sentence.........!

He must have been warned already back in 2019 that time is ticking.

Maybe Griffith gets billions out of which the reason for helping North Korea. It could have been someone else anyway. NK can pay anyone just to teach them get around with sanctions. So is North Korea today even safe from sanctions?  Because nobody escapes from this inflation unless NK has billions of gas reserves under them like Russia.
legendary
Activity: 3108
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What can you say about this? is 63 months to lenient for this kind of case or his sentencing should be longer as he has assisted a known terrorist country?

If he really helped terrorists, then he really received too little punishment, considering how the USA treated terrorists until it declared the Taliban good guys. Maybe such punishment is somewhere on the trail of a softer policy towards such things, because there are fewer and fewer terrorists, and the machinery to fight them is massive.

Besides, by what definition is North Korea a terrorist country, because that’s what the mighty US says? Each country has the right to develop its own defense mechanisms that guarantee its security, otherwise it will be attacked and occupied.
hero member
Activity: 2800
Merit: 574
I've read history about other countries doing the same thing as Griffith did in helping and evading sanctions in the same way clandestinely, strangely very few Americans are involved and do it in cases like this, I also wonder why Griffith dares to help North Korea which is clearly against international law.

It doesn't seem like he had to gain much in terms of money so it seems a bit like a case of misled idealism. Especially since he was fully aware of the the legal implications of his actions and that the FBI had already gained interest in his person. But who knows? Maybe he expected to get away with a mere slap on the wrist but that seems rather naive.
Yeah, I believed that he and others knows the consequences of their actions. They know that N. Korea is an enemy of the state and they still proceed with it? but why? for me there could be some monetary gains, but who knows?

Maybe their ideology that crypto is for everyone, yes, even the enemy of the state, and that they can teach them for whatever purpose it may serve them.
legendary
Activity: 2870
Merit: 2043
I've read history about other countries doing the same thing as Griffith did in helping and evading sanctions in the same way clandestinely, strangely very few Americans are involved and do it in cases like this, I also wonder why Griffith dares to help North Korea which is clearly against international law.

It doesn't seem like he had to gain much in terms of money so it seems a bit like a case of misled idealism. Especially since he was fully aware of the the legal implications of his actions and that the FBI had already gained interest in his person. But who knows? Maybe he expected to get away with a mere slap on the wrist but that seems rather naive.
legendary
Activity: 2002
Merit: 1742
What can you say about this? is 63 months to lenient for this kind of case or his sentencing should be longer as he has assisted a known terrorist country?
A court decision has been made for Griffith, as far as I know, from a five year lawsuit, the court gave Griffith a lesser sentence than demanded, only 63 months in prison.

If you look at Griffith's journey in helping North Korea only to train North Koreans in the immunity of the global banking system and to avoid sanctions in using crypto, but in the case of Griffith, there are pros and cons to the punishment that has been assigned to him, the US believes that Griffith's behavior could threaten global peace from a nuclear point of view, I think this punishment for Griffith is due to the selfishness of North Korea against the rejection of international sanctions.

I've read history about other countries doing the same thing as Griffith did in helping and evading sanctions in the same way clandestinely, strangely very few Americans are involved and do it in cases like this, I also wonder why Griffith dares to help North Korea which is clearly against international law.

I think this sentence is very light, most likely the US courts have other reasons behind the lightness of Griffith's sentence.........!
hero member
Activity: 2562
Merit: 540
Remember Virgil Griffith? who used to work with Ethereum Foundation was sentence to 63 months for assisting North Korea with technicals how to to evade sanctions against them.

He presented it in 2019, then pleaded guilty.

Here is the full and official court documents:

https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/press-release/file/1222646/download

What can you say about this? is 63 months to lenient for this kind of case or his sentencing should be longer as he has assisted a known terrorist country?
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