Following “lawfully served warrants,” Binance worked to flag the accounts and tie up the funds.
Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange, has acknowledged that it “aided US law enforcement” in the seizure of $4.4 million worth of cryptocurrency linked to North Korean cybercrime syndicates.
According to the company, “We actively took action against accounts associated with these individuals more than a year ago, in compliance with lawfully served warrants and in cooperation with law enforcement.”
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) government’s cyber activities have been supported by four businesses and one person, according to penalties published by the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
The Chinyong Information Technology Cooperation Company, Pyongyang University of Automation, the 110th Research Center, and the Technical Reconnaissance Bureau are among the organizations that have received sanctions.
Chinyong’s Unlawful Activities
It is thought that Chinyong has a sizable staff of highly qualified IT professionals working across the globe who produce income to fund the DPRK’s illegitimate ballistic missile and weapons of mass destruction (WMD) projects.
The company’s employees obtain overseas IT employment, particularly those in the IT and crypto industries, using stolen or false identities, and then remit the money through cryptocurrency exchanges to the DPRK.
Related: North Korea and criminals are using DeFi services for money laundering — US Treasury
Sanctions to Disrupt Cyber Support
The US Treasury slapped sanctions in an effort to stop the entities’ assistance of the DPRK’s nefarious online operations. The US government wants to stop the flow of money going to the DPRK’s illegal operations, thus it is going after these companies and people who are involved in cyber-related activities.
The US government’s measures show that it is dedicated to battling online dangers and illegal cryptocurrency use. The act of sanctioning organizations engaged in cybercrime acts as a deterrence and sends a clear message that such behavior will not be accepted.
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao revealed in late April last year, that the firm had recovered $5.8 million from the Lazarus Group after it spotted some of the ill-gotten gains moving across the exchange.
Related: OFAC sanctions OTC traders who converted crypto for North Korea’s Lazarus group