PANews reported on November 15 that, according to Coindesk, U.S. Department of Justice prosecutors and investigators have seized an additional $15 million worth of USDT in their ongoing pursuit of North Korean criminals, and five defendants have pleaded guilty.

According to court documents related to the plea agreement, U.S. and Ukrainian intermediaries assisted North Korean personnel in obtaining remote IT jobs at U.S. companies. For example, these intermediaries provided false or stolen identities and placed laptops provided by the victim companies in residences across the United States to create the illusion that the IT personnel were working domestically. The defendants' fraudulent employment scheme affected more than 136 U.S. victim companies, generated more than $2.2 million in revenue for the North Korean regime, and resulted in the disclosure of the personal information of more than 18 Americans.

Secondly, a North Korean military hacking group known as Advanced Persistent Threat 38 (APT38 in the private sector) committed a multi-million dollar cryptocurrency theft on four overseas cryptocurrency platforms in 2023. While APT38 members continued to launder money, the U.S. government froze and seized over $15 million worth of cryptocurrency and is currently seeking to confiscate it for eventual return to its rightful owners.

North Korea is using these two programs to raise funds for its weapons and other priorities, in violation of sanctions.