The US Department of Justice (DoJ) has issued a new report, according to which, North Korean hackers stole millions of dollars’ worth of cryptocurrency and laundered assets via the Chinese over-the-counter (OTC) market.
Subscribe to our Telegram channel to stay up to date on the latest crypto and blockchain news.
The department states the criminal activity includes the theft of $250 million in cryptocurrency through other exchange hacks by North Korean actors.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian C. Rabbitt of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division claims the today's action publicly demonstrates "the ongoing connections between North Korea’s cyber-hacking program and a Chinese cryptocurrency money laundering network."
"This case underscores the department’s ongoing commitment to counter the threat presented by North Korean cyber hackers by exposing their criminal networks and tracing and seizing their ill-gotten gains," Rabbitt added.
The department says the hack of a cryptocurrency exchange back in July 2019 was conducted by a bad actor tied to North Korea. The hacker allegedly stole over $272,000 worth of cryptocurrencies, including Proton Tokens, PlayGame tokens, and IHT Real Estate Protocol tokens.
Later, the hacker converted the stolen assets into bitcoin (EXANTE: Bitcoin), tether (USDT) and other forms of cryptocurrency.
It is alleged that in September 2019, a US-based company was also hacked by the North Korea-associated hacker. This time, the hacker managed to steal approximately $2.5 million.
The funds of all the above events were allegedly laundered via the Chinese OTC market, the DoJ alleges.
In June 2020, thousands of cryptocurrency over-the-counter traders in China had been banned as a result of a police raid over an alleged crypto-related Ponzi scheme.
It is still unknown what was the reason for such a massive ban of bank accounts.
Access more than 50 of the world's financial markets directly from your EXANTE account – including NASDAQ, London Stock Exchange and Tokyo Stock Exchange.