A confidential UN report disclosed that North Korean entities linked to the Lazarus Group used Tornado Cash to launder $147.5 million stolen from the HTX crypto exchange.
The infamous cybercrime collective allegedly orchestrated the theft in March 2023.
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After lying dormant for a year, the stolen funds were funneled back to North Korea through crypto mixer Tornado Cash, which obscures the origins of transactions. Privacy protocols like Tornado Cash are frequently used by malicious actors to anonymize and make stolen assets untraceable.
The UN document also revealed an ongoing investigation into 97 cyberattacks attributed to North Korea, which siphoned an estimated $3.6 billion in crypto from 2017 to 2024.
During this period, in 2022, the US sanctioned Tornado Cash for allegedly aiding North Korea in evading international sanctions. Despite the founders' denials, the platform's role in laundering operations has faced intense regulatory scrutiny.
Legal issues escalated with the recent conviction of Alexey Pertsev, a developer behind Tornado Cash, who was sentenced to over five years in prison for participating in money laundering through the platform.
Overall, the laundering of nearly $150 million by North Korean operatives through Tornado Cash underscores the persistent and sophisticated nature of state-sponsored cybercrime.
