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North Korea arrests hackers accused of laundering stolen funds via crypto
Authorities say the suspects were arrested at a Pyongyang safe house on July 12 after discrepancies in foreign-currency payment approvals were detected.
North Korean authorities have arrested former military hackers accused of stealing funds from state banks and laundering the proceeds through cryptocurrency, according to CoinDesk, citing a Daily NK report.
The alleged scheme involved breaching internal systems at the Central Bank of the DPRK and the Foreign Trade Bank, diverting foreign currency and state trade funds into overseas crypto wallets, then having Chinese brokers convert the crypto into U.S. dollars and yuan.
CoinDesk reports that the group then exchanged the crypto for cash in border cities in real time, splitting transfers into smaller amounts to avoid detection and using encrypted messaging apps and unregistered phones.
CoinDesk adds that North Korea-linked hackers have remained prominent in crypto exploits, with Chainalysis estimating the country’s hackers stole a record $2 billion in crypto last year, while TRM Labs estimated they accounted for 76% of crypto hack and scam losses through April 2021.