The North Korea-linked threat actor, Lazarus Group, shifted $147.5 Million worth of cryptocurrencies using crypto mixer Tornado Cash.
Lazarus Group, a well-known threat actor of North Korea, transferred over $147.5 Million worth of digital assets in March 2023. The group moved stolen assets from HTX, a crypto exchange owned by TRON founder Justin Sun, using crypto mixer Tornado Cash.
Lazarus Group’s Shift Of $147.5M Stolen Crypto to North Korea
The United Nations (UN) report found that North Korea’s Lazarus Group cleaned up about $147.5 million they took from HTX using Tornado Cash in March 2023. The case was encountered when the UN experts were investigating 97 cryptocurrency cyberattacks, which could be worth over $3.6 billion.
CILLIONAIRE.COM took to X to communicate the latest investigation of UN experts and expose the biggest scam of 2023, which was attempted by the Lazarus group.
Lazarus Group has moved $147.5M worth of crypto it stole in March 2023 from crypto exchange HTX, to North Korea using crypto mixer Tornado Cash, a UN report reveals. pic.twitter.com/DJsAmOEwde
— CILLIONAIRE.COM (@cillionaire_com) May 20, 2024
According to the reports, Lazarus Group’s illicit act was one of the biggest crypto thefts from last year. Now, the group made that money look legit in March this year. PeckShield and Elliptic, two crypto analytics and research firms, played a major role in uncovering this information.
For 2024, the U.N. is checking out 11 cases where cryptocurrencies were stolen, adding up to $54.7 million.
The Fake Job Lures Scam By Lazarus Group
According to a recent report by Avast, In 2023, the threat actor time-tested fabricated job lures to deliver a new remote access trojan called Kaolin RAT. The plan targeted specific individuals in the Asia region.
The attacker tricked individuals by offering them a fake job. They use clever tricks to make friends and gain trust and might use LinkedIn, WhatsApp, or email. Next, the attacker tries to send a bad file in the ISO format that looks like a tool for remote computer access, which they say is needed for the job interview.
However, the main intention behind the attempt wasn’t clear yet, but it showcases that Larazus Group had a special interest in individuals with technical backgrounds.
Tornado Cash’s $2.3 Billion Money Laundering Case
Lazarus Group used the crypto mixer Tornado Cash as a major weapon for attempting illicit acts. However, the attacker’s go-to tumbler got blacklisted by the US Department of the Treasury in August 2022.
As per the recent tweet by CoinDesk, Tornado Cash’s co-founder Alexey Pertsev was sentenced to 64 months in prison by a Netherlands court.
Tornado Cash developer Alexey Pertsev has been sentenced to 64 months in prison by a Netherlands court. https://t.co/y7NWFdZoYz
— CoinDesk (@CoinDesk) May 15, 2024
Pertsev emerged as a main player in the $2.3 Billion Tornado Cash Case. The other co-founders, Roman Storm and Roman Semenov, also faced money laundering charges.
