The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Wednesday sanctioned 10 individuals and one entity it says help run North Korea’s overseas IT worker schemes, Treasury said. The schemes place North Korean workers in foreign companies under false identities, and Treasury says their wages fund the country’s weapons programmes.
Several of the people named moved money through crypto, according to Treasury. It says Russian national Ilya Aleksandrovich Boykov exchanged and converted the equivalent of $3.5 million in cryptocurrency since 2024 for Alis, a North Korean company OFAC designated in March 2024.
Treasury says Vitold Viktorovich Obertas, a Russian intermediary, has carried out nearly $2 million in crypto conversions since January 2025, plus at least $1.25 million in other currency transactions, for North Korean officials. Those include Amnokgang Technology Development Company, which OFAC designated on 12 Mar 2026.
Two North Korean nationals lead delegations of IT workers in Russia, Treasury says. Kim Ki Hyok, who leads an Alis delegation, has transferred crypto worth nearly $500,000 since 2024. Kim Hyo Dong, who leads a delegation under Chinyong Information Technology Cooperation Company, has helped move over $100,000 in assets since at least December 2023. Chinyong was designated in May 2023.
The one entity is the First Financial and Technical Development Center (FFTDC), which Treasury describes as a North Korean-controlled entity in Russia. It says FFTDC’s workers use “Super Intelligence (SI) tools” and complex crypto transfers, and that six of them, also sanctioned, have generated over $750,000 for it since 2025.
OFAC’s list entries for the new designations include three Ethereum and five Tron addresses, according to the OFAC update.
“The North Korean regime continues targeting and exploiting American companies through fraudulent activities conducted by its overseas IT operatives, who weaponize sensitive data and extort businesses for substantial payments,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.
Treasury said Australia and the European Union have also designated people and entities supporting North Korea this month. CryptoWatchDesk covered a separate crypto-linked action on 9 Oct, the UK’s sanctions on Cryptomus’s owner.
What happens next. The sanctions took effect on Wednesday. Any property of the 11 targets in the US or held by US persons is now blocked and must be reported to OFAC, and US persons are generally barred from dealing with them, Treasury said.
This article is for information only and is not investment advice.