2 Chinese charged with laundering money from exchange hack

[Krislaw]

I still find it amazing how NoKor keeps on pulling the strings to make their moves outside their country and not get caught sooner. Their relationship with large banks and other organizations/institutions is unbelievable too, so much that they managed to amass hundreds of millions of dollars through illegal activity without hitting any red flags. That's why I always look up to the North Koreans as extremely cunning and dangerous even though their country is deprived of anything to the outside world. Good thing their moves are snooped by the authorities even though they initially used bitcoin to cover tracks first. I just wonder what certain cryptocurrency ezchange are they talking about anyway?

Something tells me that these North Koreans couldn't have made this hack successful if not with the assistance of experts from other countries. This launder attempt by Chinese individuals in behalf of the North Korean hackers who stole the funds speaks of possible connections other than this one. They could have been partners way back then. A hundred million USD won't be entrusted to these Chinese for laundering if they were not very trusted individuals.

I have serious doubts that ordinary North Koreans can pull off such huge operation all by themselves. It is either they are connected to their government itself or at least supported by certain powerful persons inside or they have the backing of foreign nationals, probably Chinese, who are knowledgeable enough about such operations.

This is so true. Something always tells me this everytime there's an exchange hack. These hacks can't be successful without the help of an insider.
It will be really difficult for them to sell now since their addresses is being monitored.

Good, fuck these guys and all thieves, the worst thing crypto has done is unfortunately attract scum. This however is just a byproduct of advancement in technology, just as the internet brought a sea of thieves online scamming people half a world away.

Not the internet. It's people's greed. There's has been bad happenings even before the internet.

[adzino]

Its really good to hear that the law enforcement agency are making such arrests. All those hackers thought they could easily steal those money and launder it with easy using crypto currencies and prepaid cards, but they were wrong. At least this is going to cause fear on other hackers too. Quite hard to track those hackers, but yeah, they did get caught. They probably made some mistakes and left out traces which eventually lead the police to them. Good job.

[Jating]

Its really good to hear that the law enforcement agency are making such arrests. All those hackers thought they could easily steal those money and launder it with easy using crypto currencies and prepaid cards, but they were wrong. At least this is going to cause fear on other hackers too. Quite hard to track those hackers, but yeah, they did get caught. They probably made some mistakes and left out traces which eventually lead the police to them. Good job.

Maybe US is sending messages to the criminals, but I don't think that those kind of people will stop what they are doing. With the huge money involved, I'm not seeing them stopping their activity just because two Chinese are caught. These people are spineless doesn't care if they are going to be caught, and they always think that they are one step ahead of the game.

So it's going to be a long battle, of course, we always wanted the bad guy to go to jail, but there are still thousands of hackers in the crypto sphere and still plying the around the corner, undetected.

[ultrloa]

Its really good to hear that the law enforcement agency are making such arrests. All those hackers thought they could easily steal those money and launder it with easy using crypto currencies and prepaid cards, but they were wrong. At least this is going to cause fear on other hackers too. Quite hard to track those hackers, but yeah, they did get caught. They probably made some mistakes and left out traces which eventually lead the police to them. Good job.

Maybe US is sending messages to the criminals, but I don't think that those kind of people will stop what they are doing. With the huge money involved, I'm not seeing them stopping their activity just because two Chinese are caught. These people are spineless doesn't care if they are going to be caught, and they always think that they are one step ahead of the game.

So it's going to be a long battle, of course, we always wanted the bad guy to go to jail, but there are still thousands of hackers in the crypto sphere and still plying the around the corner, undetected.

How could they stop if they know they can get a big amount of money for those things? Maybe they will caught by now but for sure they will bail out and returned for the same activity again.

Provably it's time to give a bigger fines or impose life imprisonment with no chance of parole for those money launderers and financial institution hackers to give a doubt for criminals to do such activities.

[AmoreJaz]

Its really good to hear that the law enforcement agency are making such arrests. All those hackers thought they could easily steal those money and launder it with easy using crypto currencies and prepaid cards, but they were wrong. At least this is going to cause fear on other hackers too. Quite hard to track those hackers, but yeah, they did get caught. They probably made some mistakes and left out traces which eventually lead the police to them. Good job.

Maybe US is sending messages to the criminals, but I don't think that those kind of people will stop what they are doing. With the huge money involved, I'm not seeing them stopping their activity just because two Chinese are caught. These people are spineless doesn't care if they are going to be caught, and they always think that they are one step ahead of the game.

So it's going to be a long battle, of course, we always wanted the bad guy to go to jail, but there are still thousands of hackers in the crypto sphere and still plying the around the corner, undetected.

How could they stop if they know they can get a big amount of money for those things? Maybe they will caught by now but for sure they will bail out and returned for the same activity again.

Provably it's time to give a bigger fines or impose life imprisonment with no chance of parole for those money launderers and financial institution hackers to give a doubt for criminals to do such activities.

sometimes it is hard to implement a harsh punishment when money talks. justice system is still broken in many ways and i dont think the area of jurisdiction where they will be charged is no different. when they are out of news, more then likely they will settle the case. and once out, they will do the same again and this time, they will be more careful. they know better!

[malevolent]

I still find it amazing how NoKor keeps on pulling the strings to make their moves outside their country and not get caught sooner. Their relationship with large banks and other organizations/institutions is unbelievable too, so much that they managed to amass hundreds of millions of dollars through illegal activity without hitting any red flags. That's why I always look up to the North Koreans as extremely cunning and dangerous even though their country is deprived of anything to the outside world. Good thing their moves are snooped by the authorities even though they initially used bitcoin to cover tracks first. I just wonder what certain cryptocurrency ezchange are they talking about anyway?

A lot of credit should go to China, it's largely due/through them and their close relations with them that they are able to do all this stuff. Half of China's foreign aid goes to North Korea, they'd rather have NK reliant on them than on their enemies.

I wonder what the prison sentence will be for these guys? 30 years? 50 years? or will they stay in prison for life? which is unacceptable Is that the North Korean regime still exists in this world. I think that all countries in the world should come together to fight regimes like those in North Korea

They won't be extradited to serve any sentences, and they are unlikely to be stupid enough to travel to countries from whence they could face extradition.

[boltz]

Not a surprise for me as there are tons of other people who are still doing bad things with Bitcoin and exchanges so don't think for a second that this 2 guys were the only one. The problem is for them is that slowly we are building laws for cryptocurrencies and the punishment for a cybersecurity crime is very big and when it comes to cryptocurrencies and money, they can stand in jail for a long period of time.

[joinfree]

I am glad these perpetrators are being brought under the law for punishment. I wish exchange platforms would corporate anytime hackers steal cryptocurrencies from any exchange and decide to sell it on other exchanges. Other exchanges don't corporate at all when it comes to freezing the funds of any suspected hacker because they are so eager on taking their trading fees and withdrawals fee other than the safety of the project and users involved in the security breach.

[BlackFor3st]

Two Chinese nationals who help North Korean hackers to launder $100 million out of the $250 million stolen from an exchange, using prepaid iTunes gift cards and other methods.

Two Chinese Nationals Charged with Laundering Over $100 Million in Cryptocurrency from Exchange Hack
Forfeiture Complaint Details Over $250 Million Stolen by North Korean Actors
          WASHINGTON – Two Chinese nationals were charged with laundering over $100 million worth of cryptocurrency from a hack of a cryptocurrency exchange.  The funds were stolen by North Korean actors in 2018, as detailed in the civil forfeiture complaint also unsealed today.

          In the two-count indictment unsealed today in the District of Columbia, 田寅寅 aka Tian Yinyin, and 李家东aka Li Jiadong, were charged with money laundering conspiracy and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business.

          “The hacking of virtual currency exchanges and related money laundering for the benefit of North Korean actors poses a grave threat to the security and integrity of the global financial system,” said U.S. Attorney Timothy J. Shea of the District of Columbia.  “These charges should serve as a reminder that law enforcement, through its partnerships and collaboration, will uncover illegal activity here and abroad, and charge those responsible for unlawful acts and seize illicit funds even when in the form of virtual currency.”]

https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/two-chinese-nationals-charged-laundering-over-100-million-cryptocurrency-exchange-hack


In relation to that,  US Department of Treasury added 20 known BTC address of the two

The following individuals have been added to OFAC's SDN List:

LI, Jiadong (Chinese Simplified: 李家东) (a.k.a. "blackjack1987"; a.k.a. "khaleesi"), Anshan, Liaoning, China (Chinese Simplified: 鞍山, 辽宁, China); DOB 10 Jan 1987; nationality China; Gender Male; Digital Currency Address - XBT 1EfMVkxQQuZfBdocpJu6RUsCJvenQWbQyE; alt. Digital Currency Address - XBT 17UVSMegvrzfobKC82dHXpZLtLcqzW9stF; alt. Digital Currency Address - XBT 39eboeqYNFe2VoLC3mUGx4dh6GNhLB3D2q; alt. Digital Currency Address - XBT 39fhoB2DohisGBbHvvfmkdPdShT75CNHdX; alt. Digital Currency Address - XBT 3E6rY4dSCDW6y2bzJNwrjvTtdmMQjB6yeh; alt. Digital Currency Address - XBT 3EeR8FbcPbkcGj77D6ttneJxmsr3Nu7KGV; alt. Digital Currency Address - XBT 3HQRveQzPifZorZLDXHernc5zjoZax8U9f; alt. Digital Currency Address - XBT 3JXKQ81JzBqVbB8VHdV9Jtd7auWokkdPgY; alt. Digital Currency Address - XBT 3KHfXU24Bt3YD5Ef4J7uNp2buCuhrxfGen; alt. Digital Currency Address - XBT 3LbDu1rUXHNyiz4i8eb3KwkSSBMf7C583D; alt. Digital Currency Address - XBT 3MN8nYo1tt5hLxMwMbxDkXWd7Xu522hb9P; alt. Digital Currency Address - XBT 3N6WeZ6i34taX8Ditser6LKWBcXmt2XXL4; Secondary sanctions risk: North Korea Sanctions Regulations, sections 510.201 and 510.210; Phone Number 8613314257947; alt. Phone Number 8618004121000; Identification Number 210302198701102136 (China) (individual) [DPRK3] [CYBER2] (Linked To: LAZARUS GROUP).
 
TIAN, Yinyin (Chinese Simplified: 田寅寅) (a.k.a. "snowsjohn"; a.k.a. "tianyinyin0404"), Nanjing, Jiangsu, China (Chinese Simplified: 南京, 江苏, China); DOB 12 Jul 1986; nationality China; Email Address 417136259@qq.com; Gender Male; Digital Currency Address - XBT 134r8iHv69xdT6p5qVKTsHrcUEuBVZAYak; alt. Digital Currency Address - XBT 15YK647qtoZQDzNrvY6HJL6QwXduLHfT28; alt. Digital Currency Address - XBT 1PfwHNxUnkpfkK9MKjMqzR3Xq3KCtq9u17; alt. Digital Currency Address - XBT 14kqryJUxM3a7aEi117KX9hoLUw592WsMR; alt. Digital Currency Address - XBT 1F2Gdug9ib9NQMhKMGGJczzMk5SuENoqrp; alt. Digital Currency Address - XBT 3F2sZ4jbhvDKQdGbHYPC6ZxFXEau2m5Lqj; alt. Digital Currency Address - XBT 1AXUTu9y3H8w4wYx4BjyFWgRhZKDhmcMrn; alt. Digital Currency Address - XBT 1Hn9ErTCPRP6j5UDBeuXPGuq5RtRjFJxJQ; Secondary sanctions risk: North Korea Sanctions Regulations, sections 510.201 and 510.210; Phone Number 8613621583465; Identification Number 321284198607120616 (China) (individual) [DPRK3] [CYBER2] (Linked To: LAZARUS GROUP).

https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/OFAC-Enforcement/Pages/20200302.aspx

I can say that this is a good move as they were able to identify and charged the hackers, if this will continue I am sure that the hacking incident will not worse in crypto world. With the amount that they steal, it has a big impact to crypto market especially if the hackers were able to sell their loot.

I hope this will also happened to the hackers of Binance exchange so there will no further casualties to their wrong doings especially that they are are targeting big exchanges. By the way, what happened to the North Korean hackers? Are they also charged the same with 2 Chinese Nationals?

[bitbunnny]

Not a surprise for me as there are tons of other people who are still doing bad things with Bitcoin and exchanges so don't think for a second that this 2 guys were the only one. The problem is for them is that slowly we are building laws for cryptocurrencies and the punishment for a cybersecurity crime is very big and when it comes to cryptocurrencies and money, they can stand in jail for a long period of time.

Of.course they are not the only one, thry just get caught. Bitcoin is abused in many ways but illegal activities connected with cryptocurrencies is still much harder to detect than those with fiat so people don't have the feeling how big this issue is.
Security of cyberspace.and cybercrime are becoming bigger and bigger issues but still there is no.right solution how to deal with that in the best way.

[Wexnident]

It's actually pretty amazing how they did it. It's kind of a small action but taken on a greater scale to maintain the anonymity of the transactions they are actually doing. Something about taking advantage of peel chains in blockchains. Yes, the officials caught 2 people, but in all honestly, it's just like how they just caught the grunts. They haven't been able to pinpoint the masterminds behind, and if they can do it once, they can do it again. Even North Korea denied the claims about them being involved in hacking campaigns, so without any solid proof, they'd just keep on doing the same actions.

[desertfox470]

This is event is indeed terrifying. I am of the opinion that this would not be possible without the conspiracy of individuals who have expertise in performing such action and make it work big. Aside from the fact that this certainly tainted the security of Bitcoin transactions, it is very alarming because future transactions might be affected through the same situation by some other experts with the same intention, to say, who are potential hackers. As the fame of Bitcoin increases, it also attracts people to see it as some kind of instrument for schemes that can be worked bigger, faster and globally situated. Therefore, they should be bylaws that should be implemented and sanctions that must be imposed with due process under the governance of cryptocurrency management themselves.