A US court trial involving former Ethereum Foundation developer Virgil Griffith has a tentitive court date of September 2021, as per court documents—pending any changes or delays. The case was one of the first sanctions involving a US citizen and cryptocurrencies.
“A conference is set for September 7, 2021 at 9:30 am in New York,” signed district judge Kevin Castel on the court order on Tuesday.
Griffith was arrested in 2019 after a visit to North Korea on allegations of consulting the country’s top brass to use cryptocurrencies to evade various financial sanctions imposed on the nation. He has since fought the case and has been placed under severe restrictions, with no access to the internet.
The developer traveled to North Korea in 2019 despite strict regulations. As per immigration rules, no US citizen can visit the country as a tourist, and all possible entries are granted only in “limited circumstances'' on a case-by-case basis.
But Griffith has maintained innocence and claimed to have traveled to the country to visit a blockchain conference.
He is, however, said to have provided detailed answers to “unsophisticated questions” to help attendees to understand blockchain and cryptocurrency concepts in a better manner at the time, a copy of which the authorities are currently assessing.
As per the Tuesday order, the prosecution is expected to work with Griffith’s lawyers and produce a stipulation of the case before January 25, 2021. The parties are additionally directed to submit a letter to the Court by December 30, 2020, in case of any reluctance against conducting the hearing in 2021.