FBI on hunt for disguised North Korean IT workers in crypto theft scheme

Four North Koreans wanted by the FBI for wire fraud are seen in a notice in this image captured from the FBIs website on Tuesday — Four North Koreans wanted by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are seen, in this grab from its website.

SEOUL, July 2 (AJP) - U.S. federal investigators have been searching for four North Koreans allegedly involved in an IT scheme to steal cryptocurrency from blockchain firms and launder the illicit proceeds of their thefts.

According to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), they were placed on a wanted list on Tuesday with a reward of up to US$5 million for information leading to their capture.

"Kim Kwang Jin, Kang Tae Bok, Jong Pong Ju, and Chang Nam Il are wanted for their alleged involvement with a scheme to steal virtual currency from two companies, valued at over $900,000 at the time of the theft, and to launder the proceeds of those thefts in 2022," it said, adding that they "speak English and Korean and have ties to the United Arab Emirates and Laos."

The U.S. Department of Justice also indicted them the previous day, accusing them of using "fake and stolen personal identities to conceal their North Korean nationality, pose as remote IT workers, and exploit their victims' trust to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars."

Such schemes "target and steal from U.S. companies and are designed to evade sanctions and fund the North Korean regime's illicit programs, including its weapons programs," it added.

North Korea-linked hackers are believed to have stolen more than $1.34 billion in cryptocurrency through dozens of separate scams last year alone, according to a report by U.S.-based blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis.

Kim Hee-su khs@ajunews.com