UN Sanctions Expert Warns People To Stay Away From North Korean Crypto Conferences

North Korea in the past couple of years has managed to steal almost $2 billion worth in cryptocurrencies through various sophisticated cyberattacks and ransomware attacks and used the stolen amount to fund their nuclear program. The warning also comes in the light of an ongoing case involving former Ethereum Research scientist Virgil Griffith who was recently indicted for participating in the last North Korean blockchain conference.

Griffith was charged for violating federal law and helping North Korea evade sanctions through the use of blockchain and cryptocurrency. Griffith was warned against attending the event on several occasions, and yet he decided to go to the authoritarian state. The prosecutors in the Griffith case also mentioned that the former researchers had encouraged many other US citizens to participate in the upcoming conference. The next conference is scheduled for February 22-29.

North Korea Encouraging Crypto Experts To Be a Part of Its Blockchain Conference

North Korea sees a perfect way not just to evade trade sanctions but also launder the money easily using cryptocurrencies. The UN report on trade sanctions evasion by North Korea noted that

“Although the press was not allowed to attend the conference and its proceedings were not published openly, the recent indictment of an American for sanctions violations sheds light on the intended purpose of the conference,”

The North Korean Blockchain conference website notes explicitly that Americans are most welcome to attend the event and also mentions that the passports of those Americans won't be stamped by the authorities which means there won't be any legal evidence of their entry in the country.