An American citizen and researcher has been arrested on charges of illegally travelling to North Korea and assisting the country in evading sanctions, the United States Justice Department (DOJ) said in a statement on Friday.

The Singapore-based Virgil Griffith, 36, who works as a researcher with the Ethereum Foundation non-profit and is based in Singapore, stands accused of travelling to the DPRK for a conference on cryptocurrency and blockchain technology and providing information on how that technology could be accused to skirt international sanctions.

“As alleged, Virgil Griffith provided highly technical information to North Korea, knowing that this information could be used