Two Chinese Nationals Charged with Laundering Over $100 Million in Cryptocurrency From Exchange Hack
Two Chinese nationals were charged with laundering over $100 million worth of cryptocurrency from a hack of a cryptocurrency exchange.
The funds were stolen by North Korean actors in 2018, as detailed in the civil forfeiture complaint also unsealed today.
In the two-count indictment unsealed today in the District of Columbia,
田寅寅 aka Tian Yinyin, and
李家东aka Li Jiadong,
were charged with money laundering conspiracy and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business.
“These defendants allegedly laundered over a hundred million dollars worth of stolen cryptocurrency to obscure transactions for the benefit of actors based in North Korea,”
said Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
“Today’s actions underscore that the Department will pierce the veil of anonymity provided by cryptocurrencies to hold criminals accountable, no matter where they are located.”
OPA | Department of Justice