Chinese Trader Accused of Laundering Millions for North Korean Hackers

Crypto investigator ZachXBT has accused Chinese OTC trader Yicong Wang of laundering millions in cryptocurrency for North Korea’s Lazarus Group since 2022. The Lazarus Group is notorious for large-scale crypto thefts, and Yicong is allegedly involved in moving tens of millions in stolen crypto using peer-to-peer transactions and social engineering methods.

The Lazarus Group, a well-known North Korean hacking group, has stolen hundreds of millions of dollars worth of crypto. In July, they reportedly laundered $35 million through Cambodia alone. In October, the U.S. accused them of stealing $879 million and began seizing their assets.

ZachXBT shared his findings, claiming that Yicong plays a central role in laundering stolen funds for the Lazarus Group. He presented a flowchart showing Yicong’s wallet addresses and transactions connected to hacked accounts, highlighting his involvement in laundering illicit funds.

One follower of ZachXBT contacted him, stating their exchange account was frozen after a P2P transaction with Yicong. The platform informed the user that they had unknowingly laundered stolen funds from Lazarus. The user provided wallet data and conversation screenshots, which helped ZachXBT trace the money trail.

In an unexpected move, Yicong reportedly reached out to the same user again, offering to convert USDT to Chinese yuan at a significantly lower rate than the market value. ZachXBT noted that such offers often signal scam activity, comparing it to a similar case involving Valeria “Bitmama” Fedyakina.

Though ZachXBT didn’t specify an exact amount, he revealed that Yicong has helped convert millions in stolen crypto to cash since 2022. He mentioned several multimillion-dollar incidents, demonstrating Yicong’s critical role in these operations.

In another thread, ZachXBT emphasized the difficulty in fully tracking these funds. He estimated that $100M to $150M had been stolen from Coinbase users through social engineering and phishing scams in the past year. Despite efforts to combat crypto scams, these complex schemes are still rising.

While Yicong’s accounts have been banned from multiple platforms, ZachXBT believes he has changed his strategies and continues to aid the Lazarus Group. According to ZachXBT’s investigation, Yicong has been active in laundering stolen crypto within the past few weeks. ZachXBT expressed hope that Yicong will eventually face justice for his actions.