Money Laundering Allegations Against North Korea in Stolen Crypto
United Nations sanctions monitors have identified North Korea’s involvement in laundering $147.5 million in stolen cryptocurrency from an exchange. The illicit activity was conducted through the Tornado Cash crypto platform in March, according to a recent Reuters report. The U.N. Security Council sanctions committee received a confidential document outlining the details of this money laundering operation.
North Korea’s Cybercrime Activity
- The U.N. monitors have been investigating 97 cyberattacks on various cryptocurrency firms over the past seven years, totaling approximately $3.6 billion in stolen funds.
- In 2024 alone, North Korea is believed to have orchestrated 11 cryptocurrency thefts amounting to $54.7 million, with some incidents potentially attributed to inadvertent hiring of DPRK IT workers by small crypto-related companies.
- One significant attack involved stealing $147.5 million worth of cryptocurrency from the HTX exchange in 2023, which was subsequently laundered in March of the following year.
North Korea’s Involvement in Laundering Stolen Crypto
According to Elliptic, a blockchain forensics firm, North Korea’s Lazarus group played a role in the theft of $112.5 million from the HTX exchange and its HECO Bridge cross-chain platform. Following the hack, more than $100 million from the stolen funds has been laundered through Tornado Cash, highlighting the use of the platform for illicit purposes.
The Controversy Surrounding Tornado Cash and Global Responses
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on Tornado Cash on August 8, 2022, citing its involvement in enabling hackers to launder an estimated $7 billion in cryptocurrency since 2019. This action drew international attention to Tornado Cash and its alleged complicity in money laundering activities.
After Tornado Cash developer Alexey Pertsev was accused of participating in a money laundering scheme, he was arrested in the Netherlands in August 2022. The U.S. government had placed Tornado Cash on a blacklist, leading to Pertsev’s detention. Subsequently, a Dutch judge ruled on Pertsev’s case at the s-Hertogenbosch court, underscoring the legal ramifications of involvement in illicit financial activities.
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