4 ms·

It is really interesting why he is in prison. Basically for attending a tech conference in North Korea. Frankly, this reminds me of the Soviet times.

nibbleshifter 4y ago
I personally know two people who were invited to that conference as speakers, but decided against it.
houstonn 4y ago
gregmac 4y ago
"Basically" is doing a lot of work in that sentence: > In September, Griffith pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate international sanctions against North Korea. Griffith was arrested in November 2019 after giving a talk at a cryptocurrency conference in Pyongyang in April of that year. > “What you see here is an intentionality…and a desire to educate people on how to evade sanctions,” [U.S. District Judge Kevin] Castel said. > Judge Castel read a series of text messages and emails from Griffith in which the defendant admits to sharing information with North Korea for the express purpose of helping the repressive Kim regime evade sanctions. > What the judge found most damning, perhaps, was a photo of Griffith presenting at the conference, wearing a traditional North Korean suit and standing in front of a blackboard on which it read “No sanctions!” with a smiley face. https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/04/12/former-ethereum-developer-virgil-griffith-sentenced-to-5-years-in-prison-for-north-korea-trip/ https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/04/12/former-ethereum...
- mccorrinall 4y ago
  Quite a lot of jail time for what basically hosting a crypto party is. What’s next? Sending everyone to jail who published articles online on how to trade crypto?
- LewisVerstappen 4y ago
  It's so funny how people are so happy to jump in defense of the US regime. Are international sanctions laws just? Should the US government have the right to bar other countries from transacting financially with the world? > Griffith has been limited to two or less meals a day, usually peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, because gangs in MDC control the kitchens and the commissary Gangs control US prisons because the US government is too incompetent to properly administer their prisons. The judge refused to send him to a lower-security prison (this guy is clearly not a physical security threat) because allowing him to avoid gang-conflict would "not be enough punishment".
  - JumpCrisscross 4y ago
    > Are international sanctions laws just? Should the US government have the right to bar other countries from transacting financially with the world? North Korea happily transacts with China. It just can’t transact with us or with our friends. This makes sense given Pyongyang has credibly stated it would be happy to bomb us and our allies. If someone wants to work for our enemies, a few years in jail is–historically and compared to how other countries treat such people—quite light.
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]
    - aaaaaaaaata 4y ago
      But...we still transact with China....? The mental gymnastics required for holding both of these opinions is...something.
  - m4jor 4y ago
    >Are international sanctions laws just? Should the US government have the right to bar other countries from transacting financially with the world? Yes and yes. With being the #1 super power country in the world, a lot of power comes with that. Griffith could have avoided ever being in prison had he not ignored the US government, lied to FBI agents, and then attempted to assist NK in evading sanctions. He thought he was so smart yet he was so dumb.
- scoopertrooper 4y ago
  I found the image! Amazing. https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/2022/04/12/bizarre-the-fbis-takedown-of-an-eth-dev-who-went-to-north-korea https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/2022/04/12/bizarre-the-fb...
riffic 4y ago
You do realize the Korean War never officially ended (de jure), right?
m4jor 4y ago
"Basically for attending a tech conference in North Korea." Yeah, nah. That's not what happened. He deserves to be in prison. He is so smart yet so stupid at the same time.
- luciusdomitius 4y ago
  You forgot switching accounts before replying to the same parent the second time. LOL.
  - m4jor 4y ago
    I replied to two different comments or at least thats what I thought I was doing.

nibbleshifter 4y ago

I personally know two people who were invited to that conference as speakers, but decided against it.

houstonn 4y ago

gregmac 4y ago

"Basically" is doing a lot of work in that sentence: > In September, Griffith pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate international sanctions against North Korea. Griffith was arrested in November 2019 after giving a talk at a cryptocurrency conference in Pyongyang in April of that year. > “What you see here is an intentionality…and a desire to educate people on how to evade sanctions,” [U.S. District Judge Kevin] Castel said. > Judge Castel read a series of text messages and emails from Griffith in which the defendant admits to sharing information with North Korea for the express purpose of helping the repressive Kim regime evade sanctions. > What the judge found most damning, perhaps, was a photo of Griffith presenting at the conference, wearing a traditional North Korean suit and standing in front of a blackboard on which it read “No sanctions!” with a smiley face. https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/04/12/former-ethereum-developer-virgil-griffith-sentenced-to-5-years-in-prison-for-north-korea-trip/ https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/04/12/former-ethereum...

mccorrinall 4y ago
Quite a lot of jail time for what basically hosting a crypto party is. What’s next? Sending everyone to jail who published articles online on how to trade crypto?
LewisVerstappen 4y ago
It's so funny how people are so happy to jump in defense of the US regime. Are international sanctions laws just? Should the US government have the right to bar other countries from transacting financially with the world? > Griffith has been limited to two or less meals a day, usually peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, because gangs in MDC control the kitchens and the commissary Gangs control US prisons because the US government is too incompetent to properly administer their prisons. The judge refused to send him to a lower-security prison (this guy is clearly not a physical security threat) because allowing him to avoid gang-conflict would "not be enough punishment".
- JumpCrisscross 4y ago
  > Are international sanctions laws just? Should the US government have the right to bar other countries from transacting financially with the world? North Korea happily transacts with China. It just can’t transact with us or with our friends. This makes sense given Pyongyang has credibly stated it would be happy to bomb us and our allies. If someone wants to work for our enemies, a few years in jail is–historically and compared to how other countries treat such people—quite light.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - aaaaaaaaata 4y ago
    But...we still transact with China....? The mental gymnastics required for holding both of these opinions is...something.
- m4jor 4y ago
  >Are international sanctions laws just? Should the US government have the right to bar other countries from transacting financially with the world? Yes and yes. With being the #1 super power country in the world, a lot of power comes with that. Griffith could have avoided ever being in prison had he not ignored the US government, lied to FBI agents, and then attempted to assist NK in evading sanctions. He thought he was so smart yet he was so dumb.
scoopertrooper 4y ago
I found the image! Amazing. https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/2022/04/12/bizarre-the-fbis-takedown-of-an-eth-dev-who-went-to-north-korea https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/2022/04/12/bizarre-the-fb...

riffic 4y ago

You do realize the Korean War never officially ended (de jure), right?

m4jor 4y ago

"Basically for attending a tech conference in North Korea." Yeah, nah. That's not what happened. He deserves to be in prison. He is so smart yet so stupid at the same time.

luciusdomitius 4y ago
You forgot switching accounts before replying to the same parent the second time. LOL.
- m4jor 4y ago
  I replied to two different comments or at least thats what I thought I was doing.