The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday imposed sanctions on eight individuals and two businesses, accusing them of laundering money through cybercrime and IT worker schemes to fund North Korean government targets. The Treasury Department pointed out that in the past three years, cybercriminals related to North Korea have stolen more than $3 billion in assets, mainly cryptocurrency. In addition, North Korean IT personnel obtained hundreds of millions of dollars from related programs by forging their identities. These actions serve North Korea’s government goals that endanger global security.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control of the Ministry of Finance has added personnel from relevant banks, IT companies and financial institutions to this year’s Sanctions List, further expanding the targets of U.S. sanctions related to North Korea’s cyber activities. Since the beginning of this year, the United States has repeatedly sanctioned North Korean organizations and individuals for activities related to remote IT workers.
"North Korea's state-sponsored hackers use theft and money laundering to finance the Pyongyang regime's nuclear weapons program," said Treasury Undersecretary John Hurley. "These actions directly threaten U.S. and global security."
The designated persons and entities include two North Korean bankers, Jang Kuk Chol and Ho Jong Son; North Korea's Mangyongdae Computing Technology Company and its president U Yong Su; Ryu Jung Credit Bank, and five overseas representatives of financial institutions: Ho Yong Chol, Han Hong Gil, Jong Sung Hyok, Choe Chun Pom and Ri Jin Hyok). Among them, two bankers were accused of managing cryptocurrency assets for a credit bank that had been previously targeted for sanctions. The IT company allegedly operates IT expatriate teams in at least two cities in China. Ryu Jung Credit Bank is believed to assist China and North Korea in evading sanctions. The five employees mentioned above are representatives of North Korean financial institutions in China or Russia and are accused of assisting in illegal transactions.
Last month, many countries, including the United States and Eurasian allies, released the latest report, focusing on North Korea's circumvention and violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions, with particular attention to cryptocurrency theft and money laundering activities related to its network and IT work. The report states: “The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK or North Korea) is systematically violating United Nations Security Council resolutions and conducting related circumvention activities through IT staff expatriation and cyber operations, especially in the areas of cryptocurrency theft and money laundering. North Korea’s cyber capabilities are state-level comprehensive projects, and their sophistication is close to the level of China and Russia.”