Christopher Eames has been in prison in Saudi Arabia since February after being detained at the airport for cryptocurrency in North Korea. Eames is based in the UK, and now the British Foreign Office is under fire for doing so little for Eames.

Crypto Conference in North Korea

The Briton organized a cryptocurrency conference in North Korea, going against the sanctions imposed by the United States. He was therefore detained in Saudi Arabia by order of the United States, pending his possible extradition.

Representative Crispin Blunt said Sky News This week, former foreign ministers “did more to defend the interests of British citizens”.

Blunt was formerly Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee. In the interview, he said, “Under international law, the requesting country is expected to have provided some evidence for their claim within 45 days.”

Well, it’s been about 140 days since that deadline passed.

The US Goes Away In The Case Of Cryptocurrency Conference

Ems is in the list The FBI’s Most Wanted Criminal He was detained at the airport in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, in February. The Saudi government is awaiting documents from the US authorities, on the basis of which it will decide whether to hand him over or not.

However, the case against Emms is controversial and human rights groups accuse the US of going too far.

The specific sanctions allegedly violated are not international sanctions, but US sanctions. Since the conference did not take place on US soil and he is not a US citizen, it is not clear what jurisdiction the United States has on the matter.

“If they want him to come to the United States to confront the American judicial system for violating American law, they should explain to the British court why,” Blunt said in the interview.

Illegal cryptocurrency and blockchain technology

There is also an association with America. Ames accused of violating US sanctions against North Korea before Team up with Virgil Griffith. This is an American citizen.

According to the indictment, Griffith and Emms illegally supplied cryptocurrency and blockchain technology to North Korea. This could circumvent the banking embargo imposed by the communist country’s nuclear weapons program.

Griffith became late 2019 Arrested He is currently serving a 63-month prison sentence and a $100,000 fine.

Pyongyang Cryptocurrency Conference

The allegations go back to 2019, when the Pyongyang Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Conference was takes place. Held in Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea. Everyone was welcome except for the South Koreans, Japanese and Israelis. A ticket cost more than $3,000, which included an all-inclusive stay in the closed country and day trips to the local brewery and shooting ranges.