Two European citizens charged in connection to helping North Korea Evade U.S. sanctions

• The two accused European citizens allegedly participated in the blockchain and crypto conference in DPRK back in 2019.
• Besides, the U.S. DOJ has accused them of working along with Ethereum developer Vigil Griffith for helping North Korea build its blockchain infrastructure.

A U.S. District Court has recently charged two European citizens for allegedly helping North Korea to evade U.S. sanctions using digital assets. The case links back to the blockchain and cryptocurrency conference held in Pyongyang, North Korea, back in 2019.

As reported further by the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ), the court documents allege that a Spanish citizen – Alejandro Cao De Benos – and a U.K. Citizen – Christopher Emms – together conspired to violate the U.S. sanctions on North Korea.

The two European citizens allegedly worked with Ethereum developer Virgil Griffith to guide North Korea on how to use blockchain and cryptocurrency technology to evade U.S. sanctions and launder money. Later, all three accused continued to provide crypto and blockchain services to North Korea. Besides, they also helped them build their crypto infrastructure and equipment.

Ethereum developer Virgil Griffith is well-known in the crypto-sphere for his work on the Ethereum platform during the early years. Back in November 2019, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrested him for his connection with North Korea’s blockchain conference.

Last September 2021, Griffith pleaded guilty to violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). Earlier this month, the U.S. court announced 63-months of prison for Griffith with an additional fine of $100,000. While accepting the wrongdoing, Griffith accepted that “it was a wrong idea”.

European citizens charged for violation of IEEPA

Just like Griffith, the U.S. court has charged the two European citizens for the violation of IEEPA. Thus, they could be getting a maximum penalty of 20 years as per the law. In another accompanying statement coming from the U.S. DOJ, the regulators have warned people who are conspiring against the U.S. and helping hostile countries in circumventing sanctions. Bradley S. Benavides, the assistant director of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division said:

Those contemplating evading U.S. sanctions against a foreign government should know the FBI and its partners will aggressively investigate these cases.

The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) recently announced that it will be targeting entities that work against the current U.S. sanctions against Russia. “The United States is committed to ensuring that no asset, no matter how complex, becomes a mechanism for the Putin regime to offset the impact of sanctions,” it noted.

Last week, the U.S. Treasury Department accused BitRiver AG, a Russia-based crypto mining services provider, and its subsidiaries of facilitating the evasion of sanctions. Last week, the OFAC also sanctioned three Ethereum addresses allegedly linked to the North Korean theft. This links to the $600 million hack of Axie Infinity-based NFT game Ronin sidechain.