American computer expert spoke in North Korea about cryptocurrency, and now he's under arrest
by Joel Rubin, Los Angeles Times
Dec 03, 2019
4 minutes
LOS ANGELES - Can an American's comments about cryptocurrency violate his country's sanctions against North Korea?
That question is at the heart of a criminal case against Virgil Griffith, a rabble-rousing computer scientist who federal authorities say ran afoul of U.S. laws meant to isolate and punish the rogue state when he gave a talk this year at a technology conference in Pyongyang.
Griffith, 36, was taken into custody by FBI agents Thursday at Los Angeles International Airport and faces a charge of conspiring to violate the International Economic Powers Act, the legal backbone for sanctions against North Korea, according to a statement released by the U.S. attorney's office
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