US Treasury’s OFAC Adds 3 ETH Addresses Linked to North Korean Cybercrime Group to SDN List – Regulation Bitcoin News

Office of Foreign Asset Control added three ethereum addresses (SDN) to its Specially Designated Nationals And Blocked Persons List. OFAC asserts that the Lazarus Group is responsible for the control of the ether addresses. This cybercrime group is also associated with North Korea.

Lazarus Group Behind Axie Infinity Heist

The U.S. Treasury Department’s OFAC has added three ethereum addresses that are allegedly associated linked with the Lazarus Group cybercrime syndicate to its SDN list. This is just weeks after U.S. authorities charged the Lazarus Group with North Korean hacker involvement in the Axie Infinity scam that cost $620 Million.

Bitcoin.com News reported that after the hacking was revealed, the U.S. government said that cybercrime groups were part of a network of hackers responsible for the Ronin Bridge attack, which resulted the siphoning off of 173,000 tokens. Also, prior to the department’s latest update, the ethereum mixing project Tornado Cash revealed it was blocking OFAC sanctioned addresses from using the mixer.

North Korea has evaded sanctions

The following is a statementThe U.S. Treasury Department released a statement via Twitter April 22 suggesting that the blockade of funds at designated addresses would reduce the revenue source for the North Korean sanctions-evaders. This statement explained:

OFAC has added three virtual currency wallet addresses in the SDN Listing of Lazarus Group. DPRK [North Korea] has relied on illicit activities like cybercrime to generate revenue while trying to evade U.S. & UN sanctions.

Although the U.S. authorities insist that the blockade will prevent North Korea using stolen crypto, a Bitcoin.com News report earlier suggested that cybercriminals could still move funds through transferring them to unapproved ether addresses.

In the meantime, U.S. Treasury Department warned that transacting from these addresses would be prohibited. This statement indicated that anyone doing this would be subject to U.S. sanction.

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Terence Zimwara

Terence Zimwara, a Zimbabwean journalist, writer and author who has been awarded the Zimbabwe Booker Prize. He is a prolific writer on the economic woes of African countries, as well as digital currencies that can be used to provide an escape path for Africans.