These North Korean hackers allegedly laundered the funds they stole using Chinese over-the-counter (OTC) cryptocurrency traders.
According to the DOJ, these cybercriminals committed their hacking and laundering of funds using infrastructure and communication accounts linked to North Korea.
Exposing North Korea and China’s cybercrime connections
In a statement, DOJ Criminal Division Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian Rabbitt said the civil forfeiture complaint “publicly exposes the ongoing connections between North Korea’s cyber-hacking program and a Chinese cryptocurrency money laundering network. This case underscores the department’s ongoing commitment to counter the threat presented by North Korean cyber hackers by exposing their criminal networks and tracing and seizing their ill-gotten gains.”
On the other hand, DOJ National Security Division Assistant Attorney General John Demers commented, “Although North Korea is unlikely to stop trying to pillage the international financial sector to fund a failed economic and political regime, actions like those today send a powerful message to the private sector and foreign governments regarding the benefits of working with us to counter this threat.”
