DOJ Goes After North Korea’s $7.7 Million Crypto Plot

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DOJ Goes After $7.7 Million in Crypto Tied to North Korean Fake Freelancer Plot

Written by Aaron S.,

Editor-In-Chief

Last Updated: June 06, 2025

Key Takeaways

US officials are trying to seize $7.74 million in crypto tied to North Koreans using fake IDs for remote blockchain jobs;
The workers were paid in digital assets, then used various tactics to hide and transfer the funds;
The DOJ linked the operation to two men accused of helping North Korea bypass global sanctions.

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DOJ Goes After $7.7 Million in Crypto Tied to North Korean Fake Freelancer Plot

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US authorities are working to take control of $7.74 million worth of cryptocurrency linked to North Korean workers who used false identities to get remote jobs in the blockchain industry.

These individuals posed as overseas freelancers and were paid in digital currencies, which were then hidden through various transfer methods.

The Department of Justice began this process after freezing the funds in April 2023. The money is tied to a case involving Sim Hyon Sop, a banker based in China, who is accused of helping North Korea move this income without detection.

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The current effort is a civil forfeiture case filed in Washington, DC, on June 5.

The digital assets include cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin BTC $104,731.57 , stablecoins like USDC USDC $0.9997 and Tether USDT $1.00 , as well as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and Ethereum ETH $2,512.33 domain names. The government noted that these funds were collected from multiple blockchain jobs, with the workers using fake documents to avoid being traced back to North Korea.

Matthew Galeotti from the Department of Justice said this case shows how North Korea is trying to use cryptocurrency to get around global restrictions. He added that the department will use all legal options to stop this kind of activity and protect digital financial systems from misuse.

Along with Sim Hyon Sop, another man named Kim Sang Man was also mentioned. He has already been sanctioned by the US Treasury for his role in laundering money for North Korea.

On June 4, US officials announced that they had shut down a dark web platform known as BidenCash. How? Read the full story.