DPRK Facilitators Charged and Sanctioned, Shedding Light on North Korean Crypto Money Laundering Processes
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On April 24, 2023, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned three individuals operating in China for facilitating Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) cryptocurrency money laundering activities used to fund weapons of mass destruction and missile programs. Cryptocurrency addresses were included in the SDN list entries for two of the three individuals, and the Department of Justice (DOJ) also charged one of them in an unsealed indictment released today.
In this blog, we’ll examine the details of these charges and sanctions, and the new information they reveal about North Korea’s cryptocurrency money laundering processes.
Who was charged and sanctioned?
The three individuals sanctioned by OFAC are Wu Huihui (Wu), Cheng Hung Man (Cheng), and Sim Hyon Sop (Sim). Sim was also charged by the DOJ for his role in money laundering conspiracies.
Wu is a China-based over-the-counter (OTC) cryptocurrency trader who converted millions of dollars’ worth of …
In this blog, we’ll examine the details of these charges and sanctions, and the new information they reveal about North Korea’s cryptocurrency money laundering processes.
Who was charged and sanctioned?
The three individuals sanctioned by OFAC are Wu Huihui (Wu), Cheng Hung Man (Cheng), and Sim Hyon Sop (Sim). Sim was also charged by the DOJ for his role in money laundering conspiracies.
Wu is a China-based over-the-counter (OTC) cryptocurrency trader who converted millions of dollars’ worth of …