Ethereum Developer Griffith Released from Jail Pending North Korea Trial Jonathan Ganor 2019-12-03 03:31:38 609 views

Will Griffith Manage to Avoid a Lengthy Prison Sentence?

As previously reported, Virgil Griffith managed to land himself in some very hot water after speaking at a cryptocurrency conference in North Korea. The U.S. born Ethereum developer was arrested shortly after the conference by the FBI after landing in Los Angeles.

The authorities have accused the developer of assisting the rogue nation evade sanctions & launder money. Griffith on the other hand, claims that he was merely sharing knowledge about blockchain that is easily available on the internet. Records suggest that Griffith's presentation was titled "Blockchain & peace".

Authorities have charged the developer for conspiring to violate the IEEPA, the International Emergency Economics Powers Act.

Griffith Released from Jail?

Virgil Griffith's arrest has had a mixed response from many in the cryptocurrency community. Some have compared him to Ross Ulbricht, the creator of Silk Road and claim his arrest is unjust. Others point out the brutality of the North Korean regime and its communist nature and have condemned Griffith's trip.

Vitalik Buterin has even mentioned that he'd sign a petition for Griffith's release.

So far it seems that things are starting to turn in Griffiths favor. He hired a seasoned lawyer and has been released from jail pending trial.

I now represent Virgil Griffith and am very pleased that today the judge found that he should be released from jail pending trial. We dispute the untested allegations in the criminal complaint, and Virgil looks forward to his day in court, when the full story can come out. â Brian Klein (@brianeklein) December 3, 2019

Should things continue in Griffith's favor & if his claims were true, he could see most of the serious accusations dropped. He could hypothetically end up with a slap on the wrist for travelling to North Korea despite a State Department ban is in place.

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