US DoJ Takes Action to Seize $7.7M Connected to North Korean Crypto Money Laundering Case
Not long ago, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) submitted a complaint to a US District Court in Columbia seeking to seize over $7.74 million in cryptocurrency associated with North Korean money laundering operations.
In a press release issued on June 5, 2025, the DoJ shed light on a larger scheme where North Korean IT personnel secured unlawful employment in the US or other global firms by presenting counterfeit identification documents.
The DOJ’s intervention in this case originates from a specific instance from 2023. In this situation, Sim Hyon Sop, representing North Korea’s Foreign Trade Bank, was involved in transferring millions of dollars generated by illicit North Korean IT workers.
Following this, US authorities managed to step in and rectify the situation by freezing and subsequently seizing the funds as North Korean operatives attempted to launder the sums.
US Targets $7.74M in Crypto Linked to North Korean Money Laundering Scheme!
DOJ focuses on $7.74M in crypto + NFTs stored in self-custody wallets/Binance accounts.
Funds associated with North Korean IT personnel using bogus identities to penetrate distributed ledger companies as remote workers…
— BTC Weirdo (@Bitcoin_Weirdo) June 6, 2025
Matthew R Galeotti, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, remarked, “This forfeiture action underscores yet again the North Korean government’s misuse of the digital currency ecosystem to fund its unlawful agendas.”
“The department is committed to utilizing every legal tool available to protect the digital currency landscape and deny North Korea access to its ill-gotten resources in breach of US sanctions,” he further stated.
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Details of the North Korean Crypto Laundering Operations
According to the complaint lodged by the DoJ, North Korean IT personnel concealed their whereabouts. They bypassed the security measures of various companies by using fraudulently acquired identification documents.
Moreover, these workers received payment in stablecoins tied to the USD and transferred the funds back to North Korea through various methods. They set up accounts under fictitious identities, transferred funds in minimal amounts, converted assets into different cryptocurrencies, and acquired NFTs to disguise their holdings, among other strategies.
Additionally, these North Korean IT fraudsters leveraged individuals like Sop from North Korea’s Foreign Trade Bank and the US-sanctioned Kim Sang Man, the Chief Operating Officer of Chinyong IT Cooperation Company, which is allegedly a front for Pyongyang’s Ministry of Defence.
The DoJ initiated its DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) RevGen initiative in 2024. The DoJ conducted multiple arrests, indictments, and asset seizures linked to North Korean actors raising funds for the nation’s military initiatives, culminating in the forfeiture complaint.
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Washington’s Refocused Offensive on Money Laundering
The complaint presented by the DoJ marks a renewed commitment from US authorities to combat North Korean money laundering enterprises.
US Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro for the District of Columbia commented, “Crime might yield results in other nations, but that’s not the case here. Sanctions against North Korea exist for a reason, and we will thoroughly investigate and take action against anyone attempting to circumvent them.”
Recently, North Korean hackers have started to utilize AI in their operations to devise more advanced schemes, prompting Google and OpenAI to eliminate accounts tied to North Korean activities.
It is reported that the North Korean fraudsters automated the creation of resumes and job applications while researching the establishment of laptop farms in strategic alliance with intermediaries to aid their remote work endeavors.
On June 5, 2025, OpenAI reaffirmed its intent to prohibit accounts suspected of participating in deceptive employment practices by crafting fraudulent profiles and backstories with false work histories.
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Key Insights
- North Korean illicit IT employees disguised their identities using counterfeit identification documents to acquire remote jobs in the US
- North Korean hackers have integrated AI into their operations to obtain remote employment in the US
- OpenAI and Google have eliminated accounts associated with North Korean IT work groups
The article US DoJ Moves to Seize $7.7M Linked to North Korean Crypto Laundering Case originally appeared on 99Bitcoins.
