US Treasury Sanctions Crypto Mixer Sinbad Accused of Money Laundering for Lazarus
Summary:
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on cryptocurrency mixer Sinbad, accusing it of facilitating money laundering for the North Korean hacking group Lazarus. The group reportedly used Sinbad to process millions of dollars in cryptocurrency stolen from several high-profile hacks. Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, Wally Adeyemo, warned of serious consequences for services helping in illegal money laundering activities. Further details will emerge as the situation unfolds.
The cryptocurrency mixer Sinbad has come under the sanctioning radar of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), an arm of the US Treasury Department. The OFAC speculates that Sinbad is complicit in dirty money laundering activities perpetrated by the North Korean hacking group, Lazarus. A press release from the OFAC on 29th November revealed that Sinbad had handled a substantial sum, said to be in millions of dollars, sourced from various heists executed by the Lazarus group. These include notable hacks of Horizon Bridge in June 2022, Ronin Bridge under Axie Infinity in March 2022, and Atomic Wallet in June 2023, with a total financial impairment of approximately $850 million. "Cryptocurrency mixing services playing a hand in enabling illicit actors like Lazarus Group in money laundering will face stringent repercussions," warns Wally Adeyemo, the Deputy Secretary of the Treasury. Adeyemo assures that the Treasury Department, alongside its federal associates, will take all necessary preventive steps to stop cryptocurrency mixers like Sinbad from promoting illegal activities. A screenshot of Sinbad's website, Sinbad.io, was visible as of November 29th. As this is an active case, more details will be revealed as the story unfolds.
Published At
11/29/2023 4:22:56 PM
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