U.S. DOJ Targets North Korean Crypto Revenue Schemes
The U.S. Department of Justice has intensified its crackdown on North Korea's covert revenue generation through cryptocurrency theft and fraudulent IT operations. Five individuals—four Americans and one Ukrainian—pleaded guilty to facilitating DPRK IT workers' infiltration of 136 U.S. companies, funneling over $2.2 million to the regime.
In a parallel action, the DOJ moved to forfeit $15 million in USDT tied to APT38, a North Korean military hacking unit notorious for high-profile crypto exchange breaches. The funds are linked to Pyongyang's weapons programs, underscoring the geopolitical stakes of crypto security.
This operation expands the U.S.-U.K. coalition's pressure on Asian cybercrime networks, signaling heightened scrutiny of cross-border crypto flows. While no specific exchanges or coins were named in the forfeiture, the case reinforces the need for enhanced compliance measures across the industry.
