US Cracks Down on North Korea’s Crypto-Fueled Money Laundering Network

According to the latest reports, the United States has made efforts to disrupt illicit crypto-related networks that support North Korea’s government, announcing sanctions against two individuals and one entity in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The US Treasury Department particularly said the parties acted as front companies for the North Korean regime that performed operations to launder money and convert it into cryptocurrency before transferring millions of dollars directly back to Pyongyang, a city in North Korea.

The Perpetration

Reportedly, the funds were obtained from cybercrimes and IT workers, which contribute to North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and ballistic missile programs.

The two men — Lu Huaying and Zhang Jian — reportedly used a UAE front company, Green Alpine Trading LLC, to conduct the operation. The sanctions block their US assets and make it illegal for Americans to do business with them.

The Treasury Department highlighted the importance of these illegal networks in funding North Korea’s military aspirations. Bradley Smith acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence noted:

As the DPRK continues to use complex criminal schemes to fund its WMD and ballistic missile programs — including through the exploitation of digital assets — Treasury remains focused on disrupting the networks that facilitate this flow of funds to the regime

Digital Assets and Cybercrimes Underpin Funding

Notably, North Korean hackers have since been one of the major threats to crypto as they are mostly linked to the majority of the hacks in the industry.

Citing the United Nations Security Council, the South Korean Yonhap News Agency recently reported that North Korean cyber activities now contribute about 50% of its foreign currency earnings.

Much of this money is reportedly used to fund WMD and other military programs. Although regulators and even crypto platforms make efforts to combat these cybercriminals, hackers tend to upgrade their tactics along with security updates from platforms.

Particularly, North Korean hackers have now so far become more skilled at exploiting the crypto sector and also at cybercrime to obtain foreign currency. One recently discovered approach is that North Korean hackers impersonate top executives or recruiters for crypto companies.

An instance is where a member of the Lazarus Group posed as an executive at Fenbushi Capital, a Chinese blockchain asset management company. Using platforms such as LinkedIn, unsuspecting users were tricked into clicking malicious links and giving the hackers access to sensitive data.

Featured image created with DALL-E, Chart from TradingView