On Tuesday, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned eight individuals and two entities linked to laundering funds from North Korean cyber thefts and overseas IT operations. These efforts are part of a larger campaign targeting the theft of over $3 billion in cryptocurrency over the past three years, used to finance North Korea's weapons programs.
The Treasury also expanded the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) listing for First Credit Bank to include related cryptocurrency addresses. This allows the U.S. to freeze any assets linked to these parties and prohibits U.S. persons from engaging with them.
"The sanctions freeze any U.S.-linked assets of the listed actors and bar U.S. persons from dealing with them."
These designations aim to prevent the flow of illicit funds that support North Korea’s weapons development, tracing millions in illegal transactions connected to cyber theft.
Author's summary: The U.S. Treasury has targeted North Korean bankers and tech fronts involved in laundering stolen cryptocurrency, intensifying efforts to cut funding for weapons programs.