North Korean-Backed Lazarus Group Laundered Over $200M in Stolen Cryptocurrency Between 2020 and 2023
Summary:
The infamous North Korean-backed Lazarus Group reportedly laundered over $200 million of stolen cryptocurrency between 2020 and 2023. The funds were illegally obtained from over 25 crypto heists, contributing to their total theft of $3 billion in crypto assets over the last six years. The group laundered the stolen assets through crypto mixing services and P2P marketplaces, mainly Noones and Paxful. They converted the hacked funds into the USDT stablecoin, exchanged them for cash, and withdrew. The Lazarus Group stole 17% of all funds lost to crypto hacks and exploits in 2023, amounting to over $309 million and was involved in several large-scale crypto crimes, including the massive $625 million Ronin Bridge heist in 2022.
The notorious Lazarus Group, backed by the North Korean state, has been found to have laundered in excess of $200 million in pilfered cryptocurrency between 2020 and 2023. This criminal group, whose ill fame rose from having perpetrated over 25 cryptocurrency heists, managed to launder this extensive sum, as indicated by on-chain observer ZachXBT in his April 29 post. Having surfaced in 2009, Lazarus is counted among the most infamous clusters of crypto thieves, having amassed over $3 billion in cryptocurrency assets in the six years leading up to 2023.
To transform the ill-gotten digital assets, the North Korean culprits resorted to crypto mixing facilities and peer-to-peer platforms, as elucidated by ZachXBT. He identified accounts on P2P platforms Noones and Paxful that had received funds from these heists and had been employed to convert cryptocurrency into fiat. Furthermore, ZachXBT estimated that at least $44 million in stolen cryptocurrency was laundered through these two P2P platforms by the hacker group, which operated under the handles "EasyGoatfish351" and "FairJunco470". Deposits and transactions corresponding to these two handles align with the pilfered funds.
ZachXBT’s study reveals that the usurped funds were then transferred into the USDT stablecoin and subsequently swapped for cash and withdrawn. This group is known to rely predominantly on China-based over-the-counter traders to convert cryptocurrency into fiat. More than $374,000 of the stolen funds were blacklisted by Tether in November 2023, and an extra $3.4 million parked in a network of Lazarus-associated addresses were blacklisted by three of the four stablecoin issuers, as per ZachXBT's observations.
In 2023, Lazarus Group was responsible for stealing 17%, or over $309 million of the total funds lost to cryptocurrency hacks and exploits, as per a report by Immunefi on Dec. 28, which estimated the total loss in the year to have been over $1.8 billion. In April, it was reported that the North Korean hacker group had exploited LinkedIn to steal digital assets through targeted malware attacks, as per blockchain security analytics company SlowMist. Lazarus Group has been involved in several major crypto thefts, one of the largest being the 2022 Ronin Bridge robbery, where they stole cryptocurrency worth $625 million.
Published At
4/29/2024 6:00:00 PM
Disclaimer: Algoine does not endorse any content or product on this page. Readers should conduct their own research before taking any actions related to the asset, company, or any information in this article and assume full responsibility for their decisions. This article should not be considered as investment advice. Our news is prepared with AI support.
Do you suspect this content may be misleading, incomplete, or inappropriate in any way, requiring modification or removal?
We appreciate your report.