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- Two Chinese nationals arrested and charged for money laundering over $100 million worth of cryptocurrency.
- The two operated through personal accounts and linked accounts and provided customers with cryptocurrency transfer and exchange services.
- The two Chinese nationals accused helping North Korean hackers to conceal their transaction records.
Laundering $100 Million Worth of Cryptocurrency
Two Chinese nationals arrested and charged for money laundering over $100 million worth of cryptocurrency from the hack of the cryptocurrency exchange.
The two Chinese nationals were Tian Yinyin and Li Jiadong, who were charged with money laundering conspiracy and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business i.e exchange.
These two Chinese were laundering money which weighs over $100 million worth of stolen cryptocurrency by the hacker group known as Lazarus under the North Korean government, laundered more than $ 100 million between December 2017 and April 2019.
The two operated through personal accounts and linked accounts, and provided customers with cryptocurrency transfer and exchange services for a fee in the united states, but never registered with the US Finance Enforcement Agency (FEA).
The U.S. Department of Justice said the investigation was led by the Criminal Investigation Division of the Internal Revenue Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Homeland Security Service, with assistance provided by South Korean police.
The Justice Department said: “The two Chinese nationals have been accused of laundering more than $100 million worth of cryptocurrency to help North Korean hackers conceal transaction records.”
The justice department today’s action proves that the Department of Justice will lift the anonymity of cryptocurrencies to hold criminals accountable, regardless of where they are.
In February of this year, Trump‘s proposed a budget for 2021 in which the Secretary Service affiliated with the Department of Homeland Security to be transferred back to the Treasury to help fight cryptocurrency-related crimes. If the proposal is passed, the Treasury will have more regulatory powers in the cryptocurrency space than before.
Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin conveyed that “we must ensure a balance between innovation and the protection of both national security and the integrity of the financial system.”
