The United States sanctions 8 North Korean bank officials and 53 USDT wallets.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury has just imposed slashing orders against eight North Korean bank employees living abroad, accusing them of laundering stolen cryptocurrencies to fund Pyongyang's weapons programs. This measure also targets two companies linked to the regime and 53 cryptocurrency wallets containing USDT – a stablecoin issued by Tether.

According to U.S. agencies, these banks, mainly in China and Russia, play an intermediary role in transferring money obtained from cyberattacks and ransomware carried out by North Korean hackers. In the past two years, North Korea is believed to have stolen nearly 3 billion USD in cryptocurrency, including 1.4 billion USD from the Bybit exchange. Washington is intensifying efforts to block illicit revenue sources that help Pyongyang evade international sanctions.