US Offers $7.2 Million Reward for North Korean IT Company... Suspected of Fake Employment and Money Laundering

Two Companies Based in China and Russia... 14 Officials Disclosed

The U.S. government has announced a reward of up to $5 million (approximately 7.2 billion KRW) for information related to North Korean IT companies. The charges involve the overseas disguised dispatch of North Korean IT workers and money laundering.

US State Department Issues Wanted Notice for North Korean IT Company. State Department X

On the 12th (local time), the U.S. Department of State requested tips under the "Rewards for Justice" program regarding the overseas dispatch of North Korean workers, money laundering, and activities supporting the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

The State Department is gathering information on the North Korean IT company "Yanbian SilverStar Network Technology," headquartered in China, and "Volasis SilverStar," located in Russia. These companies are accused of dispatching North Korean IT workers and managers to Yanji in Jilin Province, China, and Vladivostok, Russia, disguising their identities so that U.S. and other foreign companies would hire them as freelance IT workers. It is understood that these companies laundered illegally obtained funds during this process to benefit North Korea.

The State Department has publicly released the English and Korean names of 14 company officials, including CEOs Jeong Seonghwa, SilverStar representative Kim Ryuseong, and Volasis representative Ri Kyongsik. From April 2017 to 2023, they allegedly used hundreds of stolen, rented, or purchased American identities to illegally earn at least $88 million (approximately 126 billion KRW) for North Korea through about 130 North Korean IT workers.

Foreign media analyze that these funds went to the North Korean government and were used for weapons of mass destruction. The individuals remotely worked as IT workers for U.S. companies, installed remote access programs on laptops provided by the companies, and threatened to release sensitive information such as proprietary source codes online to extort money from their employers. The State Department added that the proceeds from these activities were sent to the North Korean government through Chinese banks.

On the same day, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that it had indicted 14 North Koreans involved in operating the two companies on charges including financial fraud, money laundering, and identity theft. According to the Department of Justice, if convicted, they could face up to 27 years in prison each.