OFAC Sanctions North Korean IT Worker Network Funding Weapons Programs

The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned multiple individuals and entities linked to North Korea’s fraudulent IT worker schemes, which the regime has used to generate illicit revenue for its weapons programmes. According to the press release, these targets include Vitaliy Sergeyevich Andreyev, Kim Ung Sun, Shenyang Geumpungri Network Technology Co., Ltd, and Korea Sinjin Trading Corporation.

OFAC notes that the designations were made “for their roles in a fraudulent information technology (IT) worker scheme orchestrated by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) government.” The sanctions block all property and interests of the designated persons within U.S. jurisdiction, with any entity owned 50% or more by them also blocked.

The press release explains that the DPRK leverages overseas IT workers to generate revenue for its illicit weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programmes, including hundreds of millions of dollars in wages diverted by these actors. It also records that nearly $600,000 was moved via cryptocurrency conversions and that over $1 million in profits were funneled since 2021 through a Chinese front company.