The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) recently sanctioned two entities and eight people for their role in laundering funds derived from a variety of illicit Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) schemes.
“North Korean state-sponsored hackers steal and launder money to fund the regime’s nuclear weapons program,” John Hurley, under secretary of the Treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence, said. “By generating revenue for Pyongyang’s weapons development, these actors directly threaten U.S. and global security. Treasury will continue to pursue the facilitators and enablers behind these schemes to cut off the DPRK’s illicit revenue streams.”
The activity has been linked to DPRK’s weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs and the destruction of physical computer equipment. The DPRK government relies on a broad range of illicit activity to generate revenue for its WMD and ballistic missile programs. North Korea-affiliated cybercriminals have stolen more than $3 billion over the past three years.
The two entities sanctioned were Korea Mangyongdae Computer Technology Company (KMCTC) and Ryujong Credit Bank. KMCTC is an IT company that operates IT worker delegations from at least two Chines cities. Ryujong Credit Bank has provided financial assistance in sanctions avoidance activities between China and North Korea.