A British man wanted by the FBI for allegedly assisting North Korea is now in custody in Moscow, according to a new report.
Cryptocurrency expert Christopher Emms is accused of conspiring to violate US-imposed sanctions against Kim Jong Un‘s regime.
Emms, 31, was detained by Saudi authorities last June.
Now Russian media claim he has surfaced in Moscow despite being on the United States’ most wanted list.
‘Apparently, Emms decided to wait out the turbulent times in Russia,’ news outlet Baza, which has close law enforcement links, reported.
The blockchain guru, from Reigate, Surrey, was detained by staff from Russia’s Interpol bureau, according to the report. If convicted in the US, he could face up to 20 years in jail.
Cryptocurrency expert Christopher Emms is accused of conspiring to violate US-imposed sanctions against Kim Jong Un’s regime
Emms is wanted by the FBI for ‘allegedly conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act’
Emms attended a 2019 cryptocurrency conference in North Korea’s capital Pyongyang.
The FBI accused him and Spanish co-defendant, Alejandro Cao de Benos, of ‘planning and organising’ the conference ‘for the benefit of the DPRK [North Korea]’.
Emms has protested his innocence and in June last year pleaded to be permitted back to the UK from Saudi Arabia so he could fight extradition proceedings.
‘I really just want to come back home and deal with this through the British court system, which I don’t think is a huge thing to ask, even of the Americans,’ he said at the time.
He was quoted as saying: ‘After having in-depth conversations with officials and legal counsel in the US, Saudi and the UK, I am confident I’m not guilty of any crime of which the US has accused me.’
It is unclear how long he has been in Russia.
He finds himself in detention in Moscow at a time of deep tension between the Kremlin and both Britain and the US.
Emms, 31, was detained by Saudi authorities last June. Now Russian media report he has surfaced in Moscow despite being on the United States’ most wanted list
In 2018 the British man worked with Anna Melling at a company TokenKey, and the duo reportedly married
There may be concerns he could be used as a pawn by Russia in seeking the release of its citizens in US jails.
He insists that Foreign Office guidance at the time said it was safe to travel to North Korea and attend a conference.
The indictment alleges Emms, a self-employed IT consultant, said cryptocurrency made it possible to ‘transfer money across any country in the world regardless of… sanctions’.
Emms has not commented from Russia.
This operation assisted global clients ‘in getting projects off the ground with crypto- and Blockchain-based crowdfunding and peer-to-peer financing’
He previously claimed American cryptocurrency expert Virgil Griffith, who received a five-year prison sentence in April 2022, was supposed to be the only speaker at the Pyongyang event but the organisers asked him to fill in the gaps.
The FBI alleges he was a key mover behind the North Korean conference. In 2018 the British man worked with Anna Melling at a company TokenKey.
This operation assisted global clients ‘in getting projects off the ground with crypto- and Blockchain-based crowdfunding and peer-to-peer financing’.
The couple are believed to have married in 2017.
The FBI said: ‘Emms is known to reside in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and was known to be in Saudi Arabia in or about March of 2022. He has family residing in the United Kingdom. Emms has been known to establish various business interests in multiple countries to include UAE, Malta, Gibraltar, and throughout Europe.’
