US Sanctions Two Russians Over North Korean IT Workers’ Crypto Cash-Outs

The US Treasury has sanctioned 10 individuals and one entity over alleged roles in a network that helped North Korean IT workers obtain fraudulent jobs and convert cryptocurrency into cash. Russian nationals Ilya Aleksandrovich Boykov and Vitold Viktorovich Obertas allegedly converted millions of dollars in crypto for front companies that placed the workers under false identities; the network generates hundreds of millions of dollars annually for Pyongyang. The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said Obertas exchanged nearly $2 million in crypto for North Korean officials. The designations also include North Koreans Kim Ki Hyok and Kim Hyo Dong, Russia-based First Financial and Technical Development Center, and six North Korean workers tied to it.