In an attempt to bring bad actors to law enforcement, the U.S. imposed sanctions on the North Korea government-linked individuals “for their roles in a fraudulent information technology (IT) worker scheme orchestrated by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) government.”
The U.S. Treasury recently imposed sanctions on a group of individuals and companies belonging to different countries. On Wednesday, the treasury’s official website, read “Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Vitaliy Sergeyevich Andreyev, Kim Ung Sun, Shenyang Geumpungri Network Technology Co., Ltd, and Korea Sinjin Trading Corporation for their roles in a fraudulent information technology (IT) worker scheme orchestrated by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) government.”
Vitaliy Sergeyevich Andreyev (Andreyev) is a Russian national who facilitated payments to U.S.-designated Chinyong Information Technology Cooperation Company (Chinyong), an entity associated with the DPRK defense ministry that employs delegations of IT workers in Russia and Laos.
Kim Ung Sun, a Russia-based DPRK economic and trade consular official, was entrusted to facilitate multiple financial transfers worth a total of nearly $600,000 by converting cryptocurrency to cash in U.S. dollars.
Meanwhile, Shenyang Geumpungri Network Technology Co., Ltd (Shenyang Geumpungri) is a Chinese front company for Chinyong, consisting of a delegation of DPRK IT workers. “Since 2021, Shenyang Geumpungri’s delegation of DPRK IT workers has earned over $1 million in profits for Chinyong and Korea Sinjin Trading Corporation (Sinjin).”
The stolen funds were used to generate revenue for weapons
Furthermore, the press release read that the DPRK utilized IT workers to generate revenue for its illicit weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs, in violation of U.S. and United Nations sanctions.
The bad actors used fake documents to obscure their real identity
The teams of IT workers typically use fraudulent documents, stolen identities, and false personas to deliberately obfuscate their identities and infiltrate legitimate companies, including in the United States and allied countries.
As a result of the sanction, all properties belonging to the sanctioned persons that are in the United States are blocked. Be it owned, directly or indirectly, individually or in the aggregate, 50 percent or more.
