Funds raised to avoid U.S. sanctions to support arms. 
Faked identities, NFTs and chain hopping were all used by the scheme.

North Korean IT workers’ $7.74 million in cryptocurrency has been seized by the United States Department of Justice in the District of Columbia, and a civil seizure lawsuit has been filed. Officials stated that the laundered money, channeled to avoid U.S. sanctions, supported North Korea’s weapons programs.

The complaint targets assets linked to Sim Hyon Sop, a North Korean Foreign Trade Bank representative. Authorities indicted him in April 2023. Using fake identities, authorities say the IT workers got jobs with U.S. and international firms. They earned millions in crypto.
“In order to finance its weapons, North Korea takes advantage of global information technology and cryptographic systems,” said Sue J. Bai, who is the chief of the National Security Division of the Justice Department.

Sophisticated Laundering Tactics Uncovered

In order to hide their finances, North Korean information technology professionals used complex tactics. They made accounts using bogus identities and pushed small quantities into the shadows of transactions. They covered their ill-gotten gains by using chain hopping, token swapping, and purchasing non-fungible tokens. They concealed the source of this cash by mixing it before sending it to the North Korean authorities.

Kim Sang Man, CEO of Chinyong IT Cooperation Company, led the scheme linked to North Korea’s Ministry of Defense. During the year 2017, the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the Department of the Treasury included Chinyong on its list of sanctioned entities in the United States. But the U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro said that sanctions exist to stop such schemes, and we will pursue those who evade them.

The Virtual Assets Unit and the Chicago Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) were the ones that took the initiative to conduct the investigation, with assistance from the State Department and the Treasury Department. North Korean workers of IT fraud were exposed in May 2022, October 2023, and May 2024 advisories and U.S.-based laptop farms.

This follows measures taken in May, August, December 2024, and January 2025 with the aim of generating income for North Korea. The Justice Department launched the DPRK RevGen, Domestic Enabler Initiative in March 2024 and now drives these efforts. To learn about the enforcement of sanctions, visit the U.S. Treasury’s OFAC page.

Broader Crackdown on North Korean Cybercrime

The forfeiture is one of a series of moves against North Korea’s illicit financial dealings. The Justice Department has gone after $250 million worth of stolen cryptocurrency from exchange hacks laundered through Chinese traders in 2020. These efforts show North Korea’s reliance on cybercrime to fund its regime.

Authorities stated that IT workers’ funds financed North Korea’s military and weapons programs. The purchase of goods using the laundered crypto violates the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. 

The Justice Department remains focused on disrupting North Korea’s financial networks.
Additional investigations are ongoing to identify and seize additional assets associated with sanctions evasion.

The post DOJ Seizes $7.74M Crypto Linked to North Korean IT Workers appeared first on Live Bitcoin News.

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Filed under: Bitcoin - @ June 7, 2025 2:22 am