The U.S. Treasury has sanctioned six individuals and two entities for their alleged roles in a North Korean IT worker fraud scheme targeting the crypto industry. The sanctions, announced by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, target facilitators in Vietnam, Laos, and Spain accused of generating revenue to fund North Korea’s weapons programs. A Vietnamese company was cited for allegedly laundering $2.5 million through cryptocurrency. Blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis noted that 21 cryptocurrency addresses on Ethereum and Tron were also designated.
The U.S. Treasury Department has sanctioned six people and two entities for their alleged roles in an IT worker fraud scheme orchestrated by North Korea. The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) accused the network of generating revenue to fund North Korea’s weapons program.
Among those sanctioned are Amnokgang Technology Development Company, a North Korean firm managing overseas IT workers, and Nguyen Quang Viet, the CEO of a Vietnam-based company. The CEO’s company, Quangvietdnbg International Services Company Limited, is accused of laundering $2.5 million through cryptocurrency for the scheme.
The other sanctioned individuals are Do Phi Khanh, Hoang Van Nguyen, Yun Song Guk, Hoang Minh Quang and York Louis Celestino Herrera. The sanctions freeze any U.S. assets connected to those named and prohibit financial transactions with the United States.
The designation included 21 cryptocurrency addresses across the Ethereum and Tron blockchains. Chainalysis stated that this “reflects [North Korea’s] increasingly multi-chain approach to moving funds.”
Chainalysis added that these schemes represent a sophisticated and growing threat to industries, including cryptocurrency. The firm said fraudulent workers have used stolen identities to obtain jobs and have introduced malware to extract sensitive information.
“Cryptocurrency businesses should screen all counterparties against updated OFAC sanctions lists, be alert to patterns consistent with IT worker fraud, and monitor for unusual payment patterns,” the firm advised. A recent report found the infrastructure for these fraudulent schemes has spread worldwide.
