Ethereum Developer Wants N. Korea Sanctions Charge Tossed

Law360 (October 23, 2020, 9:33 PM EDT) — A developer for blockchain platform Ethereum urged a New York federal judge Thursday to drop the “fatally flawed” criminal case against him that claims he broke the law by helping North Korea try to circumvent U.S. sanctions using cryptocurrency.

Virgil Griffith attended the Pyongyang Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Conference in North Korea in April, where he spoke about using cryptocurrency to circumvent U.S. economic sanctions, prosecutors said.

Thursday’s motion to dismiss said the four-page indictment charging him with one count of conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act doesn’t meet Fifth and Sixth Amendment specificity requirements to give Griffith adequate notice…

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