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US Cracks Down on North Korea’s Crypto Laundering Operation
The US Treasury Department has announced the closure of a significant North Korean money laundering network that has been draining millions of dollars through cryptocurrency. The operation was carried out in collaboration with the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
According to an official statement by the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the UAE-based company, Green Alpine Trading, LLC, was instrumental in converting cryptocurrency into cash on behalf of North Korea. This conversion was crucial for the regime to utilize the funds and allocate them towards their notorious nuclear weapons programs.
Two Chinese nationals, Lu Huaying and Zhang Jian, have also been added to the US sanctions blacklist along with Green Alpine Trading, LLC. Both individuals had been involved in this scheme since 2022 and worked alongside a North Korean operative, Sim Hyon Sop, to execute the operation.
The statement emphasized that the activities of Green Alpine were linked to “illicit revenue generation schemes.” This recent move is part of the ongoing efforts by the US government to curb North Korea’s utilization of cryptocurrency for funding their regime.
The sanctioned individuals’ current whereabouts remain unknown.
Source: www.cryptonewsz.com
