On Monday, U.S. officials unveiled the indictment of a North Korean banker and the imposition of sanctions on two cryptocurrency traders. These individuals were targeted for their alleged involvement in money laundering schemes.
DOJ officials announced that they had charged the North Korean banker for illegal activities in the cryptocurrency market. One of the main reasons for the accusation by the DOJ was their alleged involvement in money laundering criminal acts.
The DOJ argued that these activities aimed to generate revenue for Kim Jong-Un’s regime. U.S. officials made this announcement.
Sim Hyon Sop, a 39-year-old banker representing the Korea Kwangson Banking Corporation, has been accused of collaborating with Chinese national Wu Huihu, Hong Kong British National Cheng Hung Man, and an individual known as “Jammy Chen” to exploit and steal funds from cryptocurrency exchanges for the benefit of North Korea.
Sources familiar with the reports reveal that the parties involved had conspired to steal U.S. Dollars to purchase goods for North Korea, thus bypassing the sanctions imposed by the Treasury Department to curb the country’s ballistic missile programs.
Hyon is also alleged to have conspired with the North Korean Information Technology (I.T.)team by clandestinely washing the earnings of American citizens who were employed by shady blockchain companies operating in the United States.
These workers, who operated under the guise of false identities, cunningly requested to be reimbursed in cryptocurrencies such as Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC), which were subsequently funnelled toward North Korea.
The Department of Justice’s verdict on the matter decrees that Sim potentially faces a lengthy prison sentence of up to 20 years for his alleged involvement in money laundering activities.
On the other hand, Wu is facing a comparatively shorter prison sentence of 5 years for the charge of operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business. The former charge is being levied against Sim, while the latter charge has been brought against Wu.
