North Korea Now Leans on Crime Networks to Launder Stolen Crypto: RUSI
North Korea is increasingly laundering stolen cryptocurrency through the same networks used by scam syndicates and organized crime, making the money harder to trace. A recent paper says the regime stole at least $2.8 billion in virtual assets from January 2024 to September 2025, likely for its weapons program. The key shift is at the cash-out stage: coins are often sold, mixed, or handed to third parties before conversion, sometimes through criminal hubs tied to pig butchering scams and Chinese laundering networks. After the Bybit hack, North Korean actors reportedly used over-the-counter desks, peer-to-peer traders, and Chinese organized crime to move funds, with mule accounts in the Philippines, Indonesia, and China. Transfers are split into small chunks to avoid detection, then cashed out via banks, including Chinese institutions. The paper urges stronger compliance rules, better information sharing, and payment-message identifiers to spot these flows.
