US sanctions North Korean bankers accused of laundering stolen cryptocurrency
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Monthly Digital Subscription
$0 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*No charge for 4 weeks then price increases to the regular rate of $19.00 plus GST every four weeks. Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
Monthly Digital Subscription
$4.75/week*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Billed as $19 plus GST every four weeks. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
*Your next subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $16.99 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $23.99 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions on a group of bankers, financial institutions and others accused of laundering money from cyber crime schemes — money the Treasury Department says helps pay for North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.
Over the past three years, North Korean malware and social engineering schemes have diverted more than $3 billion, mostly in digital assets, Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said, noting the sum is unmatched by any other foreign actor. An international report documented the scope of the problem in a 138-page report published last month.
“North Korean state-sponsored hackers steal and launder money to fund the regime’s nuclear weapons program,” said Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence John K. Hurley in a statement.
The department said North Korea relies on a network of banking representatives, financial institutions, and shell companies in North Korea, China, Russia, and elsewhere to launder funds gained through IT worker fraud, heists of cryptocurrency, and sanctions evasion.
The department in 2022 warned U.S. firms against hiring highly skilled North Koreans who obfuscate their identities to gain access to financial networks, often by posing as remote IT workers.
Tuesday’s new measures were directed at eight people and two firms, including North Korean bankers, Jang Kuk Chol and Ho Jong Son. They are accused of helping to manage funds, including $5.3 million in cryptocurrency, on behalf of sanctioned First Credit Bank.