The United States has accused a North Korean bank official of alleged involvement in laundering stolen cryptocurrencies on behalf of Pyongyang.
The US Department of Justice said on April 24 that Sim Hyon Sop, a representative of the North Korean Foreign Trade Bank, is suspected of conspiring with crypto investors to use stolen funds. The ministry noted that the 39-year-old Sim collaborated with North Korean IT workers to generate income through illegal employment at blockchain firms in the US.
Sanctions Will Be Applied to Criminals
Commenting on the matter, Deputy Attorney General Kenneth A Polite Jr said: “The charges announced today are in response to attempts by North Korean operators to evade sanctions by using the technological capabilities of virtual assets to facilitate payments and profits, and by targeting virtual asset companies for theft.”
Polite Jr. He continued, “We will continue to work to prevent and deter North Korean actors and those who help them by tracking money on the blockchain and shedding light on their behavior.”
Wu Huihui, a Chinese citizen named in court documents as an accomplice in the money laundering operation, was also accused of conducting unlicensed money transfer business. Neither person is expected to appear in court in the near future, as China and North Korea generally do not extradite criminal suspects to the United States.
The US Treasury Department also announced that it will sanction Sim, Wu and Hong Kong passport holder Cheng Hung Man for providing support to Pyongyang through illegal financing and malicious cyber activities.
Brian E. Nelson, Undersecretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, also commented on the issue. “North Korea’s use of illegal facilitation networks to access the international financial system and the regime’s revenue generation using virtual currency for its illegal weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs pose a direct threat to international security,” Nelson said.
Sanction watchers said Pyongyang had committed numerous cyber thefts to finance its nuclear and missile programs.
North Korea stole between $630 million and $1 billion worth of virtual assets in 2022, according to an annual report submitted to the UN Security Council last month.
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