{"id":49561,"date":"2022-04-25T10:52:53","date_gmt":"2022-04-25T17:52:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=49561"},"modified":"2022-04-25T11:10:29","modified_gmt":"2022-04-25T18:10:29","slug":"two-europeans-alleged-conspired-with-u-s-citizen-to-help-north-korea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=49561","title":{"rendered":"Two Europeans Allegedly Conspired with U.S. Citizen to Help North Korea"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON POST<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"Two individuals are charged with allegedly conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions on the Democratic People\u2019s Republic of Korea or North Korea by working with U.S. citizen, Virgil Griffith, federal officials announced Monday.<\/span><\/p>\n

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According to court documents, Alejandro Cao De Benos, 47, a citizen of Spain, and Christopher Emms, 30, a citizen of the United Kingdom, partnered to jointly plan and organize the Pyongyang Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Conference (the DPRK Cryptocurrency Conference) for the benefit of North Korea.<\/span><\/p>\n

Both Cao De Benos and Emms remain at large.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"Griffith pleaded guilty to conspiring to assist North Korea in evading sanctions in violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act or IEEPA).\u00a0 He was sentenced on April 12<\/a> to five years and three months in prison.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe United States will not allow the North Korean regime to use cryptocurrency to evade global sanctions designed to thwart its goals of nuclear proliferation and regional destabilization,\u201d said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department\u2019s National Security Division. \u201cThis indictment, along with the successful prosecution of co-conspirator, Virgil Griffith, makes clear that the department will hold anyone, wherever located, accountable for conspiring with North Korea to violate U.S. sanctions.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"Under federal law, U.S. persons are prohibited from exporting any goods, services or technology to North Korea without a license from the Department of the Treasury\u2019s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and it is illegal to conspire with U.S. persons to do the same.<\/span><\/p>\n

As alleged, beginning in or about early 2018, Cao De Benos, the founder of the Korean Friendship Association, a pro-DPRK affinity organization, and Emms, a cryptocurrency businessman, partnered to jointly plan and organize the DPRK Cryptocurrency Conference for the benefit of North Korea. <\/span><\/p>\n

Cao De Benos and Emms recruited Griffith, an American cryptocurrency expert, to provide services at the DPRK Cryptocurrency Conference and arranged Griffith\u2019s travel to the DPRK in April 2019 for this purpose, in contravention of U.S. sanctions. Cao De Benos coordinated approval from the DPRK government for Griffith\u2019s participation in the conference. <\/span><\/p>\n

Emms confirmed for Griffith that \u201cthe DPRK will not stamp your passport,\u201d which could risk revealing Griffith\u2019s travel to U.S. authorities, and that Emms had \u201cobtained a rare full permission\u201d from the DPRK \u201cfor U.S. citizens to enter the country\u201d for the DPRK Cryptocurrency Conference.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

According to court documents, at the DPRK Cryptocurrency Conference, Emms and Griffith provided instruction on how the DPRK could use blockchain and cryptocurrency technology to launder money and evade sanctions, and Emms\u2019 and Griffith\u2019s presentations were approved by DPRK officials and tailored to the DPRK audience. <\/span><\/p>\n

For example, Emms opened the DPRK Cryptocurrency Conference by stating that it was a \u201cgreat honor\u201d to be \u201cleading this delegation\u201d to \u201cexplain to you a lot about blockchain . . . and how you can use this technology here in the DPRK.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Emms introduced Griffith as an \u201cearly scientist\u201d behind blockchain technology, which, according to Emms, made it \u201cpossible to transfer money across any country in the world regardless of what sanctions or any penalties that are put on any country.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Emms and Griffith answered specific questions about blockchain and cryptocurrency technologies for the DPRK audience, including individuals whom they understood worked for the North Korean government; proposed plans to create specialized \u201csmart contracts\u201d to serve the DPRK\u2019s unique interests; and mapped out cryptocurrency transactions designed to evade and avoid U.S. sanctions, including by diagramming such transactions on a whiteboard for the North Korean audience. In one question-and-answer session, Emms described how North Koreans could use over-the-counter cryptocurrency providers in transactions to evade and avoid U.S. sanctions.<\/span><\/p>\n

After the DPRK Cryptocurrency Conference, Cao De Benos and Emms continued to conspire with Griffith to provide additional cryptocurrency and blockchain technology services to the DPRK, including by seeking to develop potential cryptocurrency infrastructure and equipment inside North Korea, attempting to broker introductions for DPRK Cryptocurrency Conference attendees, through Griffith, to other cryptocurrency service providers, and recruiting others through Griffith\u2019s contacts, including Americans, to provide expert services relating to cryptocurrency to the DPRK. <\/span><\/p>\n

As part of these efforts, Cao De Benos, Emms and Griffith planned to hold a second cryptocurrency conference in the DPRK in 2020.<\/span><\/p>\n

As alleged, Cao De Benos and Emms took steps to conceal their activity, and Griffith\u2019s role in the conspiracy from U.S. authorities. <\/span><\/p>\n

Griffith was arrested by U.S. authorities in November 2019, disrupting Cao De Benos, Emms and Griffith\u2019s scheme and the second conference planned for 2020. <\/span><\/p>\n

At no time did Cao De Benos, Emms or Griffith obtain permission from OFAC to provide goods, services or technology to the North Korea, according to the indictment.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cao De Benos and Emms are charged with one count of conspiring to violate and evade U.S. sanctions, in violation of IEEPA, which carries a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON POST Two individuals are charged with allegedly conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions on the Democratic People\u2019s Republic of Korea or North Korea by working with U.S. citizen, Virgil Griffith, federal officials…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24019,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49561","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-u-s-department-of-justice"],"yoast_head":"\nTwo Europeans Allegedly Conspired with U.S. Citizen to Help North Korea<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"WASHINGTON POST Two individuals are charged with allegedly conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions on the Democratic People\u2019s Republic of Korea or North\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link 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