US Treasury Sanctions Web of North Korean Bankers Tied to Global Crypto Crime Operation

The U.S. Treasury has sanctioned eight North Korean bankers, two companies, and 53 cryptocurrency wallets implicated in laundering stolen funds to support North Korea's weapons programs. The accused operatives, primarily based in China and Russia, utilized international financial networks to obscure the origins of funds obtained from ransomware attacks and crypto thefts. In the last two years, North Korean hackers have reportedly stolen nearly $3 billion in cryptocurrency. The sanctioned individuals and entities played a role in coordinating these laundering operations, thus threatening global security, as emphasized by John Hurley, the Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. These new sanctions aim to disrupt the financial activities that enable North Korea to evade sanctions using international representatives to facilitate laundering through crypto markets. This announcement follows significant thefts, including a reported $1.4 billion from the crypto exchange Bybit earlier this year, highlighting the severity of the security threats posed by North Korea’s cyber activities.

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