U.S. Sanctions Eight North Koreans for $3 Billion Crypto Theft and Money Laundering

The U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned eight North Koreans and two companies involved in a massive scheme to steal and launder cryptocurrency, which directly funds the regime's nuclear weapons program. North Korean hackers have stolen over $3 billion in crypto in the last three years, with thefts in 2025 alone exceeding $2 billion, including a $1.46 billion theft from Bybit. The sanctions target two bankers managing stolen crypto for the already-sanctioned First Credit Bank, five financial representatives in China and Russia facilitating millions in transfers, and the president of Korea Mangyongdae Computer Technology Company, which runs a global IT worker fraud scheme. Additionally, OFAC sanctioned Korea Mangyongdae Computer Technology Company and Ryujong Credit Bank for facilitating money movement. These actions follow a recent international report exposing North Korea's cyber theft and IT worker fraud, aiming to cut off the regime's access to the international financial system by targeting the entire support network.

(Source：Brave New Coin)