North Korean hackers steal millions of dollars in cryptocurrency - UN report.

North Korea launders $147.5 million through virtual currency

According to Reuters, UN sanctions observers told the Security Council Sanctions Committee that they had investigated 97 North Korean cyberattacks on cryptocurrency companies from 2017 to 2024, with a total value of about $3.6 billion.

North Korea laundered $147.5 million through the Tornado Cash virtual currency platform in March after last year's theft from a cryptocurrency exchange.

The report submitted to the Security Council mentions an attack late last year when $147.5 million was stolen from the HTX cryptocurrency exchange.

Experts indicated that only in 2024, there were "11 cryptocurrency thefts... totaling $54.7 million", and many of them were apparently carried out by North Korean IT workers hired by small companies related to cryptocurrency.

According to UN member states and private companies, North Korean IT workers working abroad bring significant revenue to the country.

UN sanctions observers were disbanded at the end of April after Russia used its veto power and did not agree to the annual extension of their mandate. Some of the monitors sent unfinished work that was handed over to the North Korea Sanctions Committee.

According to the observers, they were investigating information published in the New York Times on February 6, that Russia had unlocked $9 million of $30 million in frozen North Korean assets and allowed Pyongyang to open an account in a Russian bank in South Ossetia for better access to international banking systems.

The observers also reported that ships suspected of arms trade between North Korea and Russia continue to make container trips between the North Korean port of Rajin and Russian ports, including Vladivostok and Vostochny.

According to sanctions observers, one of the suspected ships called "Angara" has been in the Chinese port of Ningbo since February, apparently for maintenance.

Source: RBC-Ukraine