AFP, WASHINGTONA prominent US cryptocurrency promoter and former hacker was on Friday charged with sanctions breaches after he allegedly advised North Korea on using virtual money to avoid international controls. Doing so breached US Department of the Treasury bans on “exporting any goods, services, or technology” to North Korea, put in place in response to the country’s nuclear weapons program. North Korean officials at the conference appeared to show particular interest in Griffith’s presentation, it said. He also announced plans to renounce his US citizenship, aiming to “purchase” citizenship in another country, the Justice Department said. “We cannot allow anyone to evade sanctions, because the consequences of North Korea obtaining funding, technology and information to further its desire to build nuclear weapons put the world at risk,” FBI Assistant Director William Sweeney said.

Source: Taipei Times November 30, 2019 16:07 UTC