Overview
- OFAC designated eight individuals and two entities, blocking their property in U.S. jurisdiction and warning that foreign financial institutions that knowingly facilitate their transactions risk secondary sanctions.
- The list names bankers Jang Kuk Chol and Ho Jong Son, IT firm Korea Mangyongdae Computer Technology Company and its president U Yong Su, and Ryujong Credit Bank, with KMCTC tied to IT worker delegations in Shenyang and Dandong, China.
- Treasury says North Korea-linked actors stole more than $3 billion in the past three years, mostly in cryptocurrency, including at least $5.3 million managed on behalf of First Credit Bank and linked to ransomware and overseas IT worker earnings.
- First Credit Bank’s prior designation was updated to include 54 cryptocurrency wallet addresses to help exchanges and compliance teams identify and block illicit flows.
- Officials describe laundering that relies on shell firms, mixers, and Chinese and Russian proxies, and Australia separately sanctioned Lazarus Group and related actors this week in a coordinated pressure campaign.