US Sanctions Network Aiding North Korea’s Crypto Heists

US Government Sanctions Network Aiding North Korea’s Crypto Heists

Written by Aaron S.,

Editor-In-Chief

Last Updated: August 28, 2025

Key Takeaways

The US Treasury Department sanctioned individuals and groups from North Korea, Russia, and China for aiding crypto theft from US companies;
North Korean IT workers posed as remote staff to access company systems and steal digital funds;
This action builds upon the 2023 sanctions against the Chinyong group, which is tied to similar cryptocurrency scams.

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The US government has taken new action against a group accused of helping North Korea steal cryptocurrency from companies in the United States by pretending to be remote tech workers.

On August 27, the Treasury Department named several individuals and organizations from North Korea, Russia, and China who allegedly played a role in this scheme.

The goal of the operation was to place North Korean workers inside foreign businesses, gain access to their systems, and then steal cryptocurrency.

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This network reportedly named several key players in the latest action. Among them are a Russian citizen named Vitaliy Andreyev, a North Korean official operating out of Russia named Kim Ung Sun, a team of North Korean IT workers operating as a company, and a Chinese business that supported their activities.

Together, they helped funnel stolen digital funds out of companies and into North Korea.

According to US officials, these workers posed as freelance or remote tech employees. Once hired, they were able to gain access to sensitive systems. From there, they could take money in the form of cryptocurrency and pass it through a web of helpers.

This latest round of sanctions builds on past operations taken to stop North Korea’s misuse of crypto tools.

In 2023, US authorities imposed penalties on a North Korean group named Chinyong, which was also involved in placing fake IT workers inside foreign businesses. That same group is connected to this new case.

Recently, Interpol arrested more than 1,200 suspects in a major operation called Operation Serengeti 2.0. How did the operation go? Read the full story.