The FBI has issued an arrest warrant for a Spanish man who claims to be a “special delegate” working for the government of North Korea, accusing him of recruiting a cryptocurrency expert in an attempt to help Pyongyang circumvent US sanctions.
Alejandro Cao de Benós, a 47-year-old Spanish national who describes himself as Pyongyang’s special delegate for the committee for cultural relations with foreign countries, is alleged to have conspired with Virgil Griffith, a US cryptocurrency expert, to “illegally provide cryptocurrency and blockchain services to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)”.
According to the FBI, Cao de Benós began organising a “Pyongyang blockchain and cryptocurrency conference” for the benefit of North Korea in early 2018.
The Spaniard is alleged to have violated US sanctions by arranging for Griffith to travel to North Korea in April 2019 to provide services to Kim Jong-un’s regime.
Credit: theguardian.com
