On-Chain Tracking｜U.S. Further Cracks Down on North Korean IT Worker Fraud Network Using Cryptocurrency to Fund WMDs, Sanctions 6 Individuals and 2 Corporate Entities

https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0416

Sanctions Details

According to U.S. OFAC disclosures, North Korea-controlled IT teams gained employment at legitimate companies in the U.S. and other countries by using forged documents, stolen identities, and fabricated personas to conceal their true identities. The North Korean government seizes the vast majority of these overseas IT workers’ salaries, obtaining hundreds of millions of dollars to support its weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs. In some cases, North Korea-linked personnel also secretly implant malware into corporate networks to steal proprietary and sensitive information.

This round of sanctions targets a total of six individuals (Nguyen Quang Viet, Do Pyong Kyong, Hoang Van Nguyen, Yun Song Guk, Hoang Minh Quang, York Louis Celestino Herrera), identified as providing substantial assistance to North Korean IT workers in криптовалютаcurrency exchange, money laundering, bank account opening, and IT business connections; and two corporate entities (Amnokgang, Quangvietdnbg), identified as key operators and facilitators of the IT worker fraud network.

Sanctioned Address Analysis

This sanctions action has locked 21 cryptocurrency addresses. According to the OFAC announcement, from mid-2023 to mid-2025, Quangvietdnbg’s CEO Nguyen Quang Viet exchanged approximately $2.5 million worth of cryptocurrency for the North Korean side, confirming that cryptocurrency is a crucial channel for North Korean IT workers to transfer funds and evade sanctions.

Analysis of the 21 addresses on this sanctions list using the on-chain anti-money laundering analysis platform Beosin KYT and the investigation tool Beosin Trace yields the following results:

YUN, Song Guk (North Korean national, leader of IT workers in Boten, Laos)

ETH:

0xb637f84b66876ebf609c2a4208905f9ddac9d075

0x95584C303FCd48AF5c6B9873015f2AD0ca84EaE3

According to Beosin Trace statistics, approximately 200,851 USDT previously flowed out to various centralized exchanges.

HOANG, Minh Quang (Facilitated IT service transactions exceeding $70,000)

BTC: bc1qyy5pt5cx3zth8xlj92lq5y87dh8xv3nwgs4ncq

Previously, 0.57462 BTC flowed into a Coinbase account.

SIM, Hyon Sop (Representative of North Korea’s Kwangson Banking Corp. in China, with 11 newly added addresses)

Previously frozen address (ETH network):

0x4f47bc496083c727c5fbe3ce9cdf2b0f6496270c

This address had a liquid volume of 21,937,732.52 USDT and 2,071,126.59 USDC. Currently, 58,148.62 USDT remains deposited at this address.

Newly sanctioned addresses (ETH network):

0xd04E33461FEA8302c5E1e13895b60cEe8AEfda7F

0x76EA76CA4Eb727f18956aB93445a94c5280412B9

0xFb3eFf152ea55D1BfA04Dbdd509A80fD7b72cdEB

0xFda1Ec4A6178d4916b001a065422D31EBE5F62FF

0x747AFB5c7A7fc34B547cD0FDEbf9b91759C5a52b

The fund flow chart is as follows:

Approximately 98,139.11 USDT, 21,300 USDC, and 0.51268 ETH flowed out.

Newly added TRX addresses:

TPDLpXxPcaSsupEZ3yrVksmNkYP5SLeKxu

TGXE9dGWawjfd3xqFSho1h1bRbRv9wUGrF

TNTFhgFoKH4srBMiWbfrVFqP2AThSmdwf1

TXhf9nU9bjo1j9z5qEesHdr6gtdndfnA4T

TK17wfSPp32RWrnzZPrGpv7TxdNFvvvE2s

TYeQD2VddTZ9NkFkAnT9DD8cUGetGUQZB2

Approximately 6,236.74 TRX and 999,014.46 USDT flowed out.

Same address cross-chain:

ARB:0x4f47bc496083c727c5fbe3ce9cdf2b0f6496270c

BSC:0x4f47bc496083c727c5fbe3ce9cdf2b0f6496270c

Approximately 1,133,025.26 USDT, 935,943.84 BUSD, and 17,811.05 USDC flowed out to various centralized exchanges.

AMNOKGANG TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT COMPANY

ETH:

0xcB74874f1e06Fcf80A306e06e5379A44B488bA2D

0x0330070FD38Ec3bB94F58FA55D40368271E9e54A

0x9Be599d7867f5E1a2D7Ec6dB9710dF2b98A15573

A total of approximately 205.02 ETH, 274,531.15 USDT, and 228,496.97 USDC were involved. Of this, 96.05 ETH remains deposited in address 0x9be599d7867f5e1a2d7ec6db9710df2b98a15573.

Tron network addresses:

TNrX2FwrHKoo4XACGkmSzqeK4pdnKYn6Z7

TEEYCuGDyeNkuDj4 U6GQRXxXo3Nh29r2vP

TZB4NrX7k9ZsV6PRc1GigAztLL8WHpLvwP

TDe2 UNAvuUnTbbDo7518eMe3TXN5qJW8Ft

Approximately 2,744.75 TRX and 4,941,817.62 USDT flowed out to various centralized exchanges.

Beosin Anti-Money Laundering Recommendations

This action is another measure by the U.S. Treasury Department in its ongoing efforts to combat North Korea’s use of cryptocurrency to evade sanctions. For the virtual asset industry, how to conduct anti-money laundering compliance screening and identify addresses associated with high-risk funds has become a critical capability for Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs).

Эта статья взята из интернета: On-Chain Tracking｜U.S. Further Cracks Down on North Korean IT Worker Fraud Network Using Cryptocurrency to Fund WMDs, Sanctions 6 Individuals and 2 Corporate Entities

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