US imposes sanctions on North Korean cybercrime laundering network

The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions on eight individuals and two entities it says helped launder proceeds from North Korean cyber operations, aiming to disrupt financial channels that Washington says fund Pyongyang's weapons programs. The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced the designations in a release that ties more than 3 billion in stolen funds, mostly digital assets, to North Korean malware and social engineering schemes over the past three years.

The measures name two North Korean bankers, Jang Kuk Chol and Ho Jong Son, who are accused of managing about 5.3 million in cryptocurrency on behalf of the sanctioned First Credit Bank. Also designated were North Korea’s Korea Mangyongdae Computer Technology Company and its president, U Yong Su; Ryujong Credit Bank; and representatives of DPRK financial institutions operating in China and Russia. Treasury officials said the targeted individuals and entities used shell companies, local intermediaries and banking proxies to move funds across borders and conceal their origin.

Treasury described a network that routes proceeds from IT worker fraud, cryptocurrency heists, ransomware payments and...