Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence at the US Treasury, Brian Nelson said in an interview that crypto fraud is the highest priority among the sanctions on North America.
Related: FBI Attributed Hacker Group Behind the Ronin Attack
Nelson told South Korea's business newspaper Mael Business Newspaper he believes that virtual currency fraud is currently a significant source of income for the North Korean system. He added that crypto is used as funds for weapons development, and it will be an important priority for sanctions.
In 2021, over 30 countries, including South Korea made an agreement under the supervision of the White House National Security Council (NSC) to collaborate and fight against the growing ransomware attacks worldwide by criminals believed to be based in other countries including China, Russia, and North Korea.
In May, the US Treasury sanctioned digital assets mixer Blender used by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to support crypto operations, which according to the document included money-laundering of stolen virtual currencies. During an investigation, American officials found out that DPRK state-sponsored hacking group Lazarus implemented the largest virtual currency heist to date, worth about $620 M, from the Ronin bridge linked to the game Axie Infinity.