North Korea Laundered $147.5 Million Via Tornado Cash: UN
United Nations sanctions monitors have revealed information about North Korea’s illicit financial activities in a confidential report that Reuters saw on Tuesday.
The report, submitted to a U.N. Security Council sanctions committee on Friday, details how the nation laundered $147.5 million through Tornado Cash in March.
Key findings from the report:
- UN sanctions monitors investigated 97 suspected North Korean cyberattacks on cryptocurrency companies between 2017 and 2024.
- North Korea stole $147.5 million from the HTX cryptocurrency exchange in late 2023 and laundered the funds through Tornado Cash in March 2024.
- In 2024 alone, the monitors examined 11 cryptocurrency thefts valued at $54.7 million.
- North Korean IT workers operating abroad generate substantial income for the country, according to UN member states.
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UN North Korean report cites information from crypto analytics firms
The report, which cites information from crypto analytics firm PeckShield and blockchain research firm Elliptic, sheds light on the ongoing efforts of North Korea to circumvent U.N. sanctions imposed since 2006.
Over the years, the nation has gradually strengthened these sanctions to curb funding for its missile and nuclear programs.
Tornado Cash, a crypto “mixer” platform that obscures the source and ownership of funds by combining the cryptocurrencies of multiple users, was sanctioned by the U.S. in 2022 over accusations of supporting North Korea.
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In 2023, two of its co-founders were charged with facilitating more than $1 billion in money laundering, including for a cybercrime group linked to North Korea.
The report further highlights the ongoing arms trade between North Korea and Russia, with ships suspected of involvement in this trade continuing voyages carrying containers between North Korea’s Rajin port and Russian ports.
