A U.S. cryptocurrency expert is facing a federal charge after allegedly providing information that could help North Koreans evade U.S. sanctions, the U.S. Justice Department said. Virgil Griffith, 36, was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport last week and appeared in federal court in Los Angeles on Monday, prosecutors said. Mr. Griffith, a U.S. citizen living in Singapore, traveled to North Korea through China in the spring to attend a cryptocurrency conference in Pyongyang, according to a complaint unsealed in Manhattan federal court. Under U.S. law, U.S. persons are prohibited from exporting any goods, services or technology to North Korea, unless they obtain permission from the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. The Justice Department said Mr. Griffith conspired to violate the U.S. law by providing services to North Korea without first obtaining approval from OFAC, according to the complaint.

Source: Wall Street Journal December 04, 2019 20:37 UTC