Security News > 2023 > April > DoJ, Treasury accuses 3 men of laundering crypto for North Korea

The US government is aggressively pursuing three men accused of wide-ranging and complex conspiracies of laundering stolen and illicit cryptocurrency that the North Korean regime used to finance its massive weapons programs.

The Department of Justice this month indicted North Korean national Sim Hyon Sop, Wu HuiHui of China, and Cheng Hung Man, a Hong Kong British national, for their roles in two money laundering conspiracies, both aimed at channeling funds into North Korea's coffers.

The State Department announced a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Sim - a representative of the Korea Kwangson Banking Corp, which itself has been sanctioned by the US for helping North Korea - in connection with another conspiracy involving money laundering and tobacco shipments that eventually funneled money to North Korea.

North Korea tends to launder the stolen crypto through OTC virtual currency traders to convert it into traditional money.

For his part, Sim, who lives in China, coordinated millions of dollars in financial transfers to North Korea through his position at KKBC, which is owned by North Korea's Foreign Trade Bank.

The workers ask to be paid in crypto and send most of their wages to North Korea through complex laundering operations.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/04/26/doj_treasury_sanctions_north_korea/