North Korea arrests hackers for laundering stolen bank funds via crypto

North Korean authorities arrested former military hackers accused of stealing state funds from two banks and laundering the proceeds through cryptocurrency, according to a Daily NK report that could not be independently verified.

The group, which an anonymous source in Pyongyang said had breached the internal systems of the Central Bank of the DPRK and Foreign Trade Bank, allegedly diverted foreign currency and state trade funds. The money then moved into overseas crypto wallets, the report said.

Chinese brokers converted the assets into dollars and yuan, Daily NK said. Contacts in the border cities of Sinuiju and Hyesan exchanged the crypto for cash in real time, the source told the outlet. The group split transfers into small amounts to avoid detection, using encrypted messaging apps, unregistered phones and Chinese wireless equipment.