Crypto: OFAC sanctions 11 relays of the network of North Korean computer scientists

Washington disconnects the relays. On Wednesday October 28, OFAC added 10 individuals and one company to its blacklist. The US Treasury sanctions office accuses these intermediaries of having placed fake North Korean computer scientists in Western companies, and also publishes 8 Ethereum and Tron addresses.

The key points of this article:

The US Treasury has sanctioned 10 individuals and one entity for their role in the schemes of North Korean computer scientists.

Russians Vitold Obertas and Ilya Boykov converted more than $5 million in cryptocurrencies, according to the Treasury.

Eight Ethereum and Tron addresses appear in the sanctions files, including one Ethereum common to the two Russians.

Based in Vladivostok, the FFTDC center has collected more than $750,000 from six North Korean developers since 2025.

Fake CVs and salaries slipping away in Pyongyang

The scheme is nothing new. With fake documents, stolen identities and invented personas, North Korean developers land jobs in American or allied companies. In other words, each company that hires becomes, without knowing it, a source of income for the regime.

Once in office, the ghost employee receives a Western salary every month. The regime then appropriates most of this revenue to finance its weapons of mass destruction and ballistic programs.

The bill exceeds the embezzled wages, since some operators also deploy malware and steal sensitive data from their employer's networks.

Scott Bessent, the US Treasury Secretary, accuses these operators of exploiting sensitive data and extorting substantial payments from American companies.

The Treasury press release specifies that these networks rely on sophisticated cryptocurrency transactions and proven laundering techniques. They also mobilize artificial intelligence tools to generate and move millions of dollars.

How much crypto has passed through the hands of these relays?

Vitold Obertas is a Russian intermediary for North Korean financial transactions. Since January 2025, he has converted nearly $2 million into crypto for regime officials.

His compatriot Ilya Boykov has traded and converted approximately $3.5 million in crypto since 2024 on behalf of Alis. As a reminder, this North Korean IT placement company is already subject to American sanctions.

The sanctions sheets also publish their wallets: two Ethereum and two Tron addresses for Boykov, one Ethereum and three Tron for Obertas. An Ethereum address appears on both cards.

These people can no longer hold anything in the United States, and Americans no longer have the right to deal with them.

This month, Australia and the European Union announced similar designations against Pyongyang's backers.

Crypto regularly serves as a clearinghouse for these schemes: at the beginning of October, Washington already sanctioned A7 Network, the Russian clandestine banking network.

The Treasury also designated the First Financial and Technical Development Center, an entity controlled by Pyongyang based in Vladivostok. Since 2025, six North Korean developers based in Russia have generated more than $750,000 there.

Two North Korean officials supervise these delegations from Russia. Kim Ki Hyok has transferred nearly $500,000 in cryptocurrencies for his delegation since 2024.

On April 20, Ethereum already had 100 North Korean profiles unmasked.

The Treasury recalls that this action extends that of March 12, directed against another network of computer scientists.