North Korea is behind cryptocurrency laundering worth more than $147 million - Reuters

North Korea laundered $147.5 million through a virtual currency platform in early spring 2024, and over the past 7 years, the DPRK has been involved in the theft of about $3.6 billion through cyberattacks.

This is stated in a confidential UN report, according to Reuters and UNN .

Details

According to a confidential UN report, North Korea has allegedly stolen about $3.6 billion through cyberattacks on crypto companies over the past seven years. In particular, at the end of 2023, $147.5 million was stolen from the HTX cryptocurrency exchange.

North Korea laundered $147.5 million through the virtual currency platform tornado cash in March after stealing it last year from a cryptocurrency exchange, Reuters reports, citing a confidential report by UN sanctions monitors.

In a document presented on Friday, the monitors told the UN Security Council's sanctions committee that they had investigated 97 alleged North Korean cyberattacks on cryptocurrency firms between 2017 and 2024.

Observers also said that, according to UN member states and private companies, North Korean IT workers working abroad bring "significant income to the country.

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North Korea, officially known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), has been under UN sanctions since 2006, and these measures have been tightened over the years in an attempt to cut off funding for its ballistic missile and nuclear programs.

The United States imposed sanctions on Tornado Cash in 2022 over allegations of supporting North Korea. In 2023, two of its co-founders were charged with facilitating the laundering of more than $1 billion, including for a group of cybercriminals linked to North Korea.

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