U.S. Treasury sanctions North Korean banks and individuals over virtual asset money laundering allegations

The U.S. Treasury sanctioned North Korean financial institutions and individuals over allegations of money laundering using virtual assets (cryptocurrency).

On the 4th (local time), according to crypto-focused media CoinDesk, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) added eight North Korean bankers and two institutions to its sanctions list on allegations of involvement in laundering virtual assets worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

A Treasury official said, "Hacker groups supported by the North Korean government are stealing virtual assets to finance their nuclear weapons development programs and laundering them," adding, "These sanctions are measures to disrupt illegal cyber activity and the financing networks that enable the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD)."

OFAC also added that it is considering additional sanctions on foreign financial institutions that used the international financial system to support or conceal the flow of funds for North Korean hackers.