The DOJ is seeking forfeiture of $15M tied to APT38’s 2023 crypto hacks, aiming to disrupt Pyongyang’s laundering networks. Several U.S. collaborators have already pleaded guilty for aiding North Korean IT operatives.

"The action, announced Friday, includes two civil forfeiture complaints covering $15.1 million in Tether stolen during a series of 2023 attacks attributed to North Korea’s Advanced Persistent Threat 38 (APT38), a state-backed hacking unit known for targeting global crypto firms." The FBI is now seeking court approval to permanently forfeit the assets liekly from following 2023 hacks so they can be returned to victims, "The DOJ did not identify the specific hacked platforms, though its timeline aligns closely with several major incidents that year, including the $100 million Poloniex breach in November 2023, the $37 million CoinsPaid hack that July, the Alphapo payments attack, which the DOJ estimates at approximately $100 million, and another November 2023 theft of about $138 million from a Panama-based exchange."

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