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The United States Department of Commerce has enacted a 10-year ban on export privileges for Virgil Griffith, an Ethereum developer currently serving a five-year prison term. This prohibition prevents him from accessing export privileges until April 12, 2032.
The export privilege ban impacts his capacity to engage in international trade and commerce. On April 12, 2022, Virgil Griffith was found guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York for violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). He was convicted of the unauthorized export of services to North Korea and for bypassing U.S. sanctions imposed on the nation.
U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman alleged that Griffith knowingly disseminated technical information to North Korea that could facilitate money laundering and sanction evasion, as stated in a release. Following his conviction, Griffith received a sentence of 63 months in prison, in addition to three years of supervised release. He is also required to pay a $100 assessment and a criminal fine of $100,000.
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According to the Export Control Reform Act, individuals convicted of certain offenses, including violations of the IEEPA, may be subjected to a denial of export privileges for a period of up to 10 years. This denial can result in the cancellation of licenses or authorizations previously issued by the Bureau of Industry and Security, a division of the Commerce Department.
Consequently, Virgil Griffith will be prohibited from participating, either directly or indirectly, in any transactions involving commodities, software, or technology that are governed by U.S. export regulations. This effectively means the revocation of his export privileges as a U.S. citizen.
Related: Two more charged with teaching North Koreans to evade US sanctions with crypto
Initially, he was denied bail but was ultimately granted a bond order for $1 million at the end of December 2019. In October 2020, Griffith submitted a motion to dismiss the conspiracy charges, asserting that his presentation at a conference in April 2019 consisted of publicly available information; thus, he was not providing a “service” to North Korean officials.
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