US Sanctions North Korea Digital Asset Laundering Network

The US Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on two individuals and one entity for their involvement in laundering cryptocurrencies for the North Korean Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).

According to the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), two Chinese nationals, Lu Huaying and Zhang Jian, facilitated this crypto money laundering as part of a larger illicit network overseen by Sim Hyon Sop, a previously sanctioned DPRK banking representative.

Lu and Zhang operated through Green Alpine Trading, a front company based in the United Arab Emirates, which allegedly played a crucial role in the money laundering network and has now been designated as a sanctioned organization.

The Treasury Department stated that the DPRK persists in using agents and proxies to access the international financial system for illicit financial activities, including fraudulent IT work, digital asset heists, and money laundering, all in support of its unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs.

North Korea-backed hacker groups, such as the Lazarus Group, have been accused of orchestrating some of the most significant crypto hacks, including the $600 million hack of the Ronin Ethereum sidechain in 2022.