Crypto: OFAC sanctions 11 relays of the network of North Korean computer scientists

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The scheme is nothing new. With fake documents, stolen identities and invented personas, North Korean developers land jobs at American or allied companies. In other words, each company that hires becomes, without knowing it, a source of income for the regime.

Once in office, the ghost employee receives a Western salary every month. The regime then appropriates most of this revenue to finance its weapons of mass destruction and ballistic programs.

The bill exceeds the embezzled wages, since some operators also deploy malware and steal sensitive data from their employer's networks.

Scott Bessent, the US Treasury Secretary, accuses these operators of exploiting sensitive data and extorting substantial payments from American companies.

The Treasury press release specifies that these networks rely on sophisticated cryptocurrency transactions and proven laundering techniques. They also mobilize artificial intelligence tools to generate and move millions of dollars.

Vitold Obertas is a Russian intermediary for North Korean financial transactions. Since January 2025, he has converted nearly $2 million into crypto for regime officials.

His compatriot Ilya Boykov has traded and converted approximately $3.5 million in crypto since 2024 on behalf of Alis. As a reminder, this North Korean IT placement company is already subject to American sanctions.

The sanctions sheets also publish their wallets: two Ethereum and two Tron addresses for Boykov, one Ethereum and three Tron for Obertas. An Ethereum address appears on both files.

These people can no longer hold anything in the United States, and Americans no longer have the right to deal with them.

This month, Australia and the European Union announced similar designations against Pyongyang's backers.

Crypto regularly serves as a clearinghouse for these schemes: at the beginning of October, Washington already sanctioned A7 Network, the Russian clandestine banking network.

The Treasury also designated the First Financial and Technical Development Center, a Pyongyang-controlled entity based in Vladivostok. Since 2025, six North Korean developers based in Russia have generated more than $750,000 there.

Two North Korean officials supervise these delegations from Russia. Kim Ki Hyok has transferred nearly $500,000 in cryptocurrencies for his delegation since 2024.

Machine-translated from French