LONDON, Feb 16 (Reuters) – Norwegian authorities announced Thursday that they had seized a record-breaking $5.8 million in cryptocurrency stolen by North Korean hackers last year.
The heist, which happened in March 2022, is said to be linked to the US-based blockchain project Axie Infinity and North Korean hacker group called “Lazarus”, and is estimated to have stolen $625 million.
“This is money that can be used to finance the North Korean regime and their nuclear weapons programme,” said Norway’s Senior public prosecutor Marianne Bender in an official statement.
North Korea has denied any accusations of cyber-attacks and hacking.
Norway’s National economic crime unit, Okokrim, said it had seized 60 millions Norwegian Crowns (5.004 million), which is one of the highest amount of money ever confiscated in Norway and a record-breaking amount for a cryptocurrency seizure.
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The case is still under investigation and is expected to be concluded in the next few weeks.
text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__full_width__ekUdw body__large_body__FV5_X article-body__element__2p5pI” style=”font-size:20px”>Okokrim, the Norwegian law enforcement agency, collaborated with the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s crypto-tracking team.
2020 was a year of unparalleled crypto heists, as hackers, allegedly tied to North Korea, stole an estimated $3.8 billion, as per Chainalysis, a U.S.-based Blockchain Analytics firm.
Sky Mavis, the firm behind the popular game Axie Infinity, is based in Vietnam, but the founder, Aleksander Larsen, is of Norwegian origin. Larsen declined to comment, but he thanked Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange, for their help in the Norwegian Police’s seizure.
A spokesperson from Binance said, “When we learn of bad actors on our platform, we intervene and take appropriate action, including freezing funds and working with law enforcement to return funds to their rightful owner.”
According to a confidential report seen by Reuters, North Korea are believed to have stolen more cryptocurrency assets in 2022 than in any other year. Their targets included networks of defence and aerospace companies overseas.
Reporting By Elizabeth Howcroft and James Pearson; Editing By Nick Macfie
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
