US incapacitates ‘mixing’ company that laundered cryptocurrency stolen by North Korean hackers

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The U.S. Department of Justice has launched a cryptocurrency platform called ChipMixer, which provided mixing services necessary for laundering cryptocurrency worth $3 billion (about 400 billion won) stolen by North Korea and criminal groups from 2017 until recently. It was announced that it was cracked down through cooperation.

The U.S. Justice Department announced on the 15th (local time) that it had confiscated Chipmixer’s domain and server along with German federal authorities, as well as over $46 million in cryptocurrency. In addition, Minh Quoc Nguyen (49), a resident of Hanoi, Vietnam, who was involved in the operation of the chip mixer, was charged with money laundering, operating an unauthorized remittance business, and identity theft.

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zoom inA press release on the crackdown on cryptocurrency mixing companies announced by the US Department of Justice on the 15th (local time). US Department of Justice website capture

According to the US Department of Justice indictment, Chipmixer is one of the most widely used mixer companies for laundering money obtained through crime. It provided a mixing service by mixing customers’ deposited Bitcoins with other customers’ Bitcoins, making it difficult for judicial and regulatory authorities to track transactions.

Chipmixer laundered more than 700 million dollars (approximately 920 billion won) of bitcoin, including cryptocurrency stolen from blockchain video game company ‘Axie Infinity’ in 2022 and blockchain technology company Harmony in 2020 by Lazarus, a North Korean-linked hacker organization. the Ministry of Justice said. Lazarus is a member of North Korea’s Reconnaissance General Bureau and is leading illegal foreign currency earning through virtual currency hacking, and is subject to sanctions by the United States and the United Nations.

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In addition, it is reported that the General Reconnaissance Bureau, a Russian military intelligence organization, and the Russian hacking group APT28 also entrusted chip mixers with bitcoin washing. Customers of ‘Hydra’, the world’s largest darknet market, also visited the chip mixer. The darknet market is an Internet black market where drugs and stolen financial information are traded.

“Today’s coordinated operation underscores our consistent message to disrupt criminal activity that endangers global cybersecurity,” said Deputy Minister of Justice Lisa Monaco. revealed

Source: Donga

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