US Sanctions Russians for Crypto Exchange Tied to North Korea Aid

The US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) under the Department of the Treasury announced sanctions against ten individuals and one organization. The list includes Russians involved in cryptocurrency exchange.

US authorities accuse the listed participants of involvement in a scheme where IT specialists from North Korea deceive American technology companies by taking jobs under false or fictitious names. The funds earned by these individuals are spent by the North Korean regime to finance weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs, according to the OFAC statement.

According to the US agency, Russian citizen Ilya Boykov exchanged approximately $3.5 million in cryptocurrency on behalf of the North Korean company Alis since 2024, and also helped track transfers and resolve logistical issues. Another Russian citizen, Vitaly Obertas, according to OFAC materials, conducted cryptocurrency exchange operations worth nearly $2 million on behalf of North Korean officials since January 2025.

Also sanctioned is the First Financial and Technical Development Center (FFTDC), which has been operating in Vladivostok since 2024 under North Korean control. At least six North Korean IT employees worked through it in Russia. Since 2025, they have earned over $750,000 and sent the funds to the authorities back home, OFAC claims.

In the summer, it became known that state-employed North Korean hackers breached the internal networks of the Central Bank and the Foreign Trade Bank of North Korea. The stolen funds were converted into cryptocurrency and withdrawn abroad, according to the South Korean publication Daily NK, citing sources in Pyongyang.