Revealed message to renounce the US citizenship, Ethereum researcher Virgil Griffith has been denied bail

By Selena 12/27/19 2:50 PM

Not long ago, Ethereum researcher Virgil Griffith was arrested for conspiracy to federal with North Korea. However, in the process of applying for bail, he was rejected. According to The U.S. Attorney’s Office, based on a text message taken from Griffith’s phone, it looks like he decided to relinquish US citizenship.

Virgil Griffith, Ethereum researcher

The judge refused to guarantee the Ethereum researcher Virgil Griffith

Virgil Griffith, the head of Ethereum’s special projects, has long been known as one of the leading developers of the Ethereum network. However, all his activities have stopped since Griffith was arrested on Thanksgiving. The reason is that he has traveled illegally to North Korea and is accused of providing the country with information on how to use Ethereum to overcome economic sanctions.

The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and the FBI claim that Griffith was charged with violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) by traveling to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).

A week after his arrest, Griffith’s legal representative announced that Griffith would be released from prison after his bonds were posted. However, this may take a few weeks to complete.

However, new information appearing during the investigation seems to have changed the judge’s mind. Furthermore, the US judge and assistant lawyer also claimed that Griffith had deceived the counterfeit services.

The judge said that she was quite concerned about Griffith not disclosing complete financial information. Especially when declaring he owned many properties and a shell company in Puerto Rico. Besides, the judge said that because Griffith never served time, he may seek to flee the country.

Virgil Griffith has been denied bail and will be in jail, awaiting a formal hearing.

Griffith and the overwhelming evidence against him

One of the primary evidence against Griffith is the text message he sent to his parents. According to The U.S. Attorney’s Office, Griffth’s text messages claim he maintained the world’s largest portal to the Dark Web.

However, according to Griffith’s defense lawyer Brian Klein, they have sought an indictment before the indictment for allegedly thoughtful discussions, but so far have not received it. According to Klein, the Southern District of New York’s Judge Cote didn’t have all the facts when she ordered Mr. Griffith’s arrest and detention.

The main problem from bail sentences is that the US Attorney’s Office has feeble arguments. At the same time, Griffith still has a chance to appeal this decision.

You read it right- US Attorney’s Office didn’t really seem to know how to argue, veering from Puerto Rico real estate to text messages to his parents that might well have been (dark) humor. He may do better on appeal, either to Part I Judge Broderick or 2d Circuit https://t.co/qiiwZAmyKF

— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) December 27, 2019

Moreover, the trip to the Pyongyang Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Conference earlier this year can be used as proof of protection for Griffith. As Griffith regularly tweeted about the trip and time in North Korea, it seemed that Griffith had no intention of doing anything wrong and had nothing to hide.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has been extremely helpful to Virgil Griffith unconditionally. The move comes after the FBI arrested Griffith for allegedly helping North Korea use cryptocurrency and Blockchain technology to evade sanctions.

I refuse to take the convenient path of throwing Virgil under the bus, because I firmly believe that that would be wrong. I’m signing. Reasoning below.https://t.co/E44p5caeJO

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) December 1, 2019

After Griffith was arrested, the Ethereum co-founder signed a petition demanding the release of the American programmer. He thought that it was easy to deduce that Griffith suffered the consequences of his actions. But this is not the right approach.

Buterin asserts:

“I don’t want Virgil to be wrongfully accused because I’m sure that is wrong. I think I’m right.”