U.S. prosecutors are going after 280 cryptocurrency accounts allegedly tied to North Korea’s multimillion-dollar crypto heists and laundering networks with a new forfeiture suit filed Thursday.
- Justice department investigators say they traced the accounts to two cryptocurrency exchange hacks allegedly perpetrated by North Korea’a state-sponsored cyber hackers last year.
- The first, last July, emptied $272,000 in Proton, PlayGame and IHT Real Estate Protocol alt-coins from an unnamed exchange, according to prosecutors.
- They further allege that a second hack stole $2.5 million in crypto from a U.S.-based exchange two months later.
- North Koreans sloshed those funds through Chinese over-the-counter cryptocurrency traders linked to previous crypto laundering operations, according to prosecutors.
- The forfeiture complaint offers a detailed glimpse at the financial gears keeping North Korea’s alleged crypto laundering machine moving.
Read more: North Korean Hacker Group Targeted Crypto Firm Using LinkedIn Ad: Cybersecurity Report