Griffith is an American citizen but lives in
Singapore. Messages were sent to Griffith’s
defense attorney seeking comment.
Federal prosecutors said Griffith secured a visa
through “a (North Korean) diplomatic mission
facility” in Manhattan for 100 euros and then
traveled to the country through China in April.
A request for comment was sent to North
Korea’s United Nations mission in New York.
At the conference, Griffith talked about how
North Korea could use cryptocurrency to
“achieve independence from the global banking
system,” according to a criminal complaint.
The conference was attended by 100
people, prosecutors said, including several
who appeared to work for the North
Korean government.
The criminal complaint says Griffith showed
the FBI photographs of himself in North Korea
and provided agents with propaganda from the
country. It said Griffith planned to facilitate the
exchange of cryptocurrency between North and
South Korea and encouraged other U.S. citizens
to attend the same conference next year.
“Griffith announced his intention to renounce
his U.S. citizenship and began researching how
to purchase citizenship from other countries,”
the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan said in a
news release.
Prosecutors say another person involved in the
alleged conspiracy was to be brought to New
York and arrested. That person is not named in
the criminal complaint against Griffith.