US Files Suit Against Crypto Accounts Tied to North Korea
Prosecutors say the 280 accounts hold crypto stolen from two exchange hacks last year.
Aug 27, 2020 at 8:42 p.m. UTCUpdated Aug 19, 2021 at 3:59 a.m. UTC
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U.S. prosecutors are going after 280 cryptocurrency accounts allegedly tied to North Korea's multimillion-dollar crypto heists and laundering networks with a new forfeiture suit filed Thursday.
- Justice Department investigators say they traced the accounts to two cryptocurrency exchange hacks allegedly perpetrated by North Korea'a state-sponsored cyber hackers last year.
- The first, last July, emptied $272,000 in Proton, PlayGame and IHT Real Estate Protocol alt-coins from an unnamed exchange, according to prosecutors.
- They further allege that a second hack stole $2.5 million in crypto from a U.S.-based exchange two months later.
- North Koreans sloshed those funds through Chinese over-the-counter cryptocurrency traders linked to previous crypto laundering operations, according to prosecutors.
- The forfeiture complaint offers a detailed glimpse at the financial gears keeping North Korea's alleged crypto laundering machine moving.
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