Ethereum researcher Virgil Griffith was released from the detention of the prison on April 9, the Bureau of Prison (BOP) confirmed officials to CointeleGraph.
According to Crypto -Developer Brigant Millegan, Griffith remains in a half -way house for several weeks while waiting to complete the next steps in his triallessness process.
Griffith was arrested in 2019 for giving a lecture on blockchain technology and its power to bypass US sanctions against an audience in North Korea.
Virgil Griffith depicted at the center with his parents immediately after his release from the prison on April 9. Source: Brantly Millegan
The US government claimed that the researcher violated the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) by providing North Korea with “very technical information” despite the content of the lecture being widely available knowledge published on the Internet.
Griffith’s case highlights the tension between blockchain developers and state powers as the beginning technology continues to create opportunities for individuals and countries to escape financial controls, censorship and surveillance.
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Virgil Griffith’s legal battle against US prosecutors
In January 2020, an American jury accused Griffith Griffith for conspiracy of violating IEEPA, giving the executive branch of government the power to limit the economic activity between American citizens and foreign powers, which is considered to be conflicting to the United States.
Initially, Griffith did not plead guilty to the charges. The software developer’s lawyers submitted a proposal to reject the case in October 2020 and argued that Griffith did not violate the law by presenting what was already widely available public knowledge.
Griffith on a cryptophocused lecture in 2019 to a North Korean audience. Source: Cointelegraph/United States Department of Justice.
After a prolonged legal battle that took nearly two years, Griffith pleaded guilty to violation of sanctions legislation as part of a plea of ​​the US government in September 2021.
The Ethereum researcher was sentenced to 63 months in prison and ordered to pay a fine of $ 100,000 of the court in April 2022. However, the legal battle did not end there.
Two years later, in April 2024, the researcher’s attorneys presented a proposal to reduce prison sentences against US prosecutors, referring to Griffith’s actions as harmful to national security.
Despite the pushback of the charges, New York referee Kevin Castel issued a decision in July 2024 and reduced Griffh’s prison sentence to 56 months.
Magazine: FBI’s removal of Virgil Griffith to break sanctions, firsthand