The Department of Justice of the United States has initiated the seizure of $7.74 million in crypto, reportedly earned by North Korean IT workers by using fake identities and working at blockchain companies as remote contractors.  In April 2023, the funds were frozen in an indictment against Sim Hyon Sop.

• In April, the Threat Intelligence Group of Google released a report mentioning the invasion operations of North Korea.
• North Korea has been attempting to invade the crypto industry and raise funds to send back to the hermit kingdom.  

The Department of Justice of the United States has initiated the seizure of $7.74 million in crypto, reportedly earned by North Korean IT workers by using fake identities and working at blockchain companies as remote contractors. 

In April 2023, the funds were frozen in an indictment against Sim Hyon Sop. He was a China-based banker reportedly aiding a North Korean IT worker to launder money, as per the statement issued by the Department of Justice on June 5. 

DOJ is seeking to capture various cryptocurrencies, including stablecoins and BTC in different amounts, including NFTs and Ethereum Name Service domains that are held in various self-custody wallets and Binance accounts, as per its civil forfeiture complaint filed on June 5 in the DC federal court, Washington. 

The head of the criminal division of the Justice Department, Matthew Galeotti, asserted that the case shows how the government of North Korea is attempting to exploit the crypto ecosystem to fund its illegal activities. 

He further mentioned that the Department will leverage every legal tool at its disposal to secure the crypto sphere and refuse North Korea its illegal gains in breach of US sanctions. The body also claimed that the IT workers from North Korea who gained the crypto were active in various countries and leveraged phony recognition documents and other obfuscation strategies to secure employment. 

Invasion in the Crypto Industry 

The IT workers were often being paid either in USDC or Tether, after which they used laundering techniques, consisting of chain hopping and token swaps to NFTs, to hide the origins of funds. 

DOJ further claimed that the funds were supposed to be sent back to the government of North Korea through Sim and Kim Sang Man, another North Korean sanctioned by the OFAC for money laundering offenses. 

In the past few months, North Korea has been attempting to invade the crypto industry and raise funds to send back to the hermit kingdom. 

In April, the Threat Intelligence Group of Google released a report mentioning the invasion operations of North Korea on blockchain companies outside the US after increased scrutiny from operations, with having significant focus on Europe. 

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