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U.S. Sanctions North Korean Bankers and Firms Over Crypto Laundering for Weapons Funding

The designations aim to cut off routes that convert stolen digital assets and fraudulent IT‑worker earnings into revenue for Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs.

Overview

  • OFAC named eight individuals and two entities, blocking any U.S.-linked property and generally prohibiting transactions with them.
  • Bankers Jang Kuk Chol and Ho Jong Son are accused of managing at least $5.3 million in cryptocurrency for previously sanctioned First Credit Bank, with portions tied to ransomware and IT‑worker proceeds.
  • Korea Mangyongdae Computer Technology Company allegedly runs IT delegations in China’s Shenyang and Dandong that used Chinese nationals as banking proxies to hide funds.
  • Ryujong Credit Bank was designated for facilitating remittances and other transactions between China and North Korea that support sanctions evasion.
  • Treasury says DPRK-linked actors stole more than $3 billion in three years through cyber heists and laundering via mixers, shell companies, and third‑country intermediaries, and it warned that foreign financial institutions risk enforcement if they knowingly facilitate such activity.