US Charges North Korean Bank Official With Crypto Money Laundering | Crypto

North Korean Foreign Trade Bank representative accused of conspiring to use stolen funds to buy goods for Pyongyang.

The United States has charged a North Korean bank official for his alleged involvement in laundering cryptocurrency stolen on behalf of Pyongyang.

Sim Hyon Sop, a representative of the North Korean Foreign Trade Bank, is suspected of conspiring with cryptocurrency traders to use stolen funds to buy goods for North Korea, the US Justice Department said in a statement on Monday.

Sim, 39, is also charged with conspiring with North Korean IT workers to generate income through illegal employment with blockchain firms in the United States, the department said.

“The charges announced today respond to innovative efforts by North Korean operators to evade sanctions by exploiting the technological capabilities of virtual assets to facilitate payments and profits and target virtual currency companies for theft,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A Polite, Jr.

“We will continue to work to disrupt and deter North Korean actors and those who help them by following the money on the blockchain and shedding light on their behavior,” he said.

Wu Huihui, a Chinese national named in court documents as a co-conspirator in the money laundering scheme, was also charged with operating an unlicensed money transfer business.

Neither man is likely to face trial in the near future because China and North Korea do not typically extradite criminal suspects to the United States.

Separately, the US Treasury Department announced sanctions against Sim, Wu and Cheng Hung Man, a Hong Kong passport holder, for providing support to Pyongyang through “illegal financing and malicious online activity”.

“The DPRK’s use of illegal facilitation networks to access the international financial system and generate revenue using virtual currency for the regime’s illegal weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and ballistic missile programs directly threatens international security,” State Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Finance. Intelligence Brian E Nelson said in a statement, referring to the acronym for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, North Korea’s official name.

“The United States and our partners are committed to safeguarding the international financial system and preventing its use in the DPRK’s destabilizing activities, particularly in light of the DPRK’s three intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launches this year alone.”

Under leader Kim Jong Un, North Korea has accelerated its development of nuclear weapons and missiles despite international sanctions and criticism, and last year declared its status as a nuclear-armed state “irreversible.”

Sanctions monitors have said Pyongyang has carried out a series of cyber thefts to fund its nuclear and missile programs.

North Korea stole a record $630 billion to $1 billion worth of virtual assets in 2022, according to an annual report delivered to the UN Security Council last month.