Virgil Griffith’s counsel has filed a motion to dismiss the U.S. government’s charges that the Ethereum developer violated sanctions law by speaking at a North Korean cryptocurrency colloquium.
The motion, filed by attorney Brian Klein, claims the government’s late-2019 indictment of Griffith doesn’t “individualize any alleged overt facts,” and contains no actual allegation of fact.
Griffith was arrested last November on charges he defiled the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and executive orders by going to North Korea and speaking during a crypto colloquium, where he allegedly taught government officials how to use the techology to bypass economic sanctions.
It’s the first sanctions case in a U.S. court entailing cryptocurrency, and as such is likely to be closely watched. The results could hold a precedent for other cases the government force bring under the law, as the U.S. continues adding individuals and entities to its sanctions lists.
Klein’s motion to dismiss claims that the President of the Opinion States does not have the authority to prohibit the transmission of information, and that the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the Cache Department division overseeing sanctions enforcement, has “issued no regulations and published no guidance to clarify the definition of ‘services’” that are otherwise blocked under executive orders.
“It appears that the government’s theory is that, by attending and speaking at a blockchain conference in Pyongyang, Mr. Griffith gave ‘services’ because he ‘provided the DPRK with valuable information on blockchain and cryptocurrency technologies, and participated in discussions on using cryptocurrency technologies to evade sanctions and launder money,’” the motion said.
According to Klein, Griffith barely provided information that was already in the public domain.
The next step in the case is likely a government response to Klein’s suggestion.