WASHINGTON — The United States on Wednesday sanctioned 10 individuals and one entity accused of supporting North Korean information technology worker schemes that defraud American businesses and generate money for Pyongyang's weapons programmes, the Treasury Department said, in an action first reported by CBS News and also reported by IANS.
The designations by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, targeted workers and facilitators based in North Korea and Russia, including intermediaries accused of converting cryptocurrency and moving funds on behalf of North Korean officials. OFAC blocks the targets' property and interests in property in the United States or under the control of US persons, and US persons are generally prohibited from dealing with them.
How the scheme worked, according to Treasury
Treasury said North Korean operatives used false documents, stolen identities and fabricated profiles to obtain jobs with legitimate companies in the United States and allied countries, and that the North Korean government takes most of their wages. The schemes generate hundreds of millions of dollars for North Korea's weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programmes, Treasury alleged, using cryptocurrency transactions, money laundering methods and artificial intelligence tools to earn and transfer funds.
Source: IANS via NewKerala — US sanctions 10 individuals, one entity over North Korean IT fraud
"The North Korean regime continues targeting and exploiting American companies," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said. Beyond raising money, Treasury alleged the workers used access to corporate networks to introduce malware, extract sensitive data and steal proprietary information. Treasury's announcement did not identify individual companies affected by Wednesday's designations.
The intermediaries and the Russia-based centre
Russian intermediary Vitold Viktorovich Obertas allegedly conducted nearly $2 million in cryptocurrency conversions — yaani about 20 lakh US dollars — and at least $1.25 million in other currency transactions for North Korean officials since January 2025, including transactions involving Amnokgang Technology Development Company, which OFAC designated in March. Another Russian national, Ilya Aleksandrovich Boykov, was accused of supporting the previously sanctioned company Alis and of exchanging and converting the equivalent of $3.5 million in cryptocurrency since 2024 — yaani about 35 lakh US dollars.
OFAC also designated North Korean nationals Kim Ki Hyok and Kim Hyo Dong, who Treasury said led separate groups of IT workers in Russia. Kim Ki Hyok allegedly transferred cryptocurrency valued at nearly $500,000 for his group since 2024, while Kim Hyo Dong allegedly facilitated transfers exceeding $100,000 since at least December 2023. The sanctioned entity, the First Financial and Technical Development Center, is described by Treasury as a North Korean-controlled organisation operating in Russia whose IT workers generated several million dollars for Pyongyang; six North Korean workers associated with the centre were also designated, and Treasury alleged they had collectively generated more than $750,000 for the organisation since 2025.
Allies welcome the October sanctions
On the same day, South Korea, the United States and other partners issued a joint statement through 11 countries and the European Union welcoming sanctions imposed in October by the United States, Australia and the EU to disrupt North Korea's financing of its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes, Yonhap reported. The statement highlighted findings by the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team on Pyongyang's military cooperation with Russia, cyber-enabled IT worker schemes and overseas labour operations, and reaffirmed a commitment to the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of North Korea.
Washington is no longer only chasing the fake workers themselves — Wednesday's action targets the financial plumbing in Russia that converts their wages and cryptocurrency into revenue for Pyongyang's weapons programmes, and 11 partner countries plus the EU publicly backed that wider enforcement push on the same day.