Chinese Trader Said to Have Laundered $17 million for North Korean Hackers

Yicong Wang, an over-the-counter (OTC) dealer based in China, faces accusations of laundering approximately $17 million in stolen bitcoin for the notorious Lazarus Group, a cybercrime group associated with North Korea. One of the most well-known bitcoin hacks this organization is known for is the infamous $600 million Ronin Bridge vulnerability.

On-chain analyst ZachXBT claims that, since 2022, Wang has been turning the pilfers into cash via bank transactions. The inquiry into Wang’s conduct emerged after a ZachXBT follower claimed that a peer-to-peer transaction with Wang had frozen their account.

Linked to Wang, one wallet under the name “0x501” has handled approximately $17 million linked to more than 25 hacks linked to the Lazarus Group. Tether frozen $374,000 in USDt kept by this wallet in November 2023, sparking questions about Wang’s degree of involvement in laundering operations.

Recently, the Lazarus Group shifted its tactics and began utilizing social engineering techniques to target employees at distributed finance (DeFi) companies and cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs), thereby compromising bitcoin businesses. The FBI issued a new warning stressing that North Korean hackers have been carrying out sophisticated plans to pilfer money from various companies.

Wang’s case has raised awareness of the possible abuse of OTC trading platforms, which, although giving freedom and anonymity, may also support illegal activity. To hide the sources of the pilfers, his claimed laundering methods involved intricate, layered transactions on several platforms.

These grave claims highlight the necessity of more regulatory control of OTC trading in order to fight financial crime and money laundering. The ongoing operations of the Lazarus Group serve as a sobering reminder of the dangers threatening the bitcoin sector and the necessity for robust security mechanisms.