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Lazarus Group laundered $200M from 25 crypto hacks to fiat

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Re: Lazarus Group laundered $200M from 25 crypto hacks to fiat

#11

Post by vernon99 »

artdigital wrote: post #10
conception wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You run the bitcoin through mixers/online exchanges into monero/zerocoin and then to wherever to get out with fiat.

you still have to do the actual laundering at some point. just because you have $200 million now in monero (which you also need to get to first) doesn't mean you can just transfer them to your bank account. exchanges will KYC you for that, and you will definitely get flagged for a source of wealth / source of funds check to prove where you got it from

For $200m yes, but you’d be really stupid trying to do it all at once. Small amounts, multiple accounts, gradually over time.

Re: Lazarus Group laundered $200M from 25 crypto hacks to fiat

#13

Post by walterbell »

US/Canada 2024, $3 billion in fines by US regulators, https://rupakghose.substack.com/p/td-banks-aml-issues-and-fi...

> DoJ investigation found.. [banking] business had been used to launder more than $650m between 2016 and 2021 from US fentanyl sales for Chinese crime groups and drug traffickers.

Canada 2018, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33918115

> An estimated $5.3 billion of laundered money into B.C. real estate in 2018 hiked housing prices 5 per cent, two special reports released Thursday by the provincial government show.

Australia 2015, https://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2015/06/stop-money-launderi...

> Credit Suisse estimates some $28 billion of Chinese money has been invested in the Australian housing market over the past six years

Re: Lazarus Group laundered $200M from 25 crypto hacks to fiat

#15

Post by SpicyLemonZest »

CaptainOfCoit wrote: post #7
talldayo wrote: post #2

I'd imagine it's pretty easy, too. You've already got the assets in a poorly-accountable and liquid state - now all you need is a chump to unload the bag on. Almost makes you wonder how many cryptocurrency influencers are in the pocket of sanctioned nations...

> I'd imagine it's pretty easy, too. You've already got the assets in a poorly-accountable and liquid state Alright, so walk me through it because I don't see how it's easier to wash than other ill-gained funds like cash. You robbed someone and now you sit on $200M worth of Bitcoin. How you unload them so you have cash you can use, when every transaction is traceable and any exchange willing to trade for those amount…

It's easier because mainstream cryptocurrency services support money laundering for privacy reasons, and will happily process withdrawals from known money laundering services like Tornado Cash until OFAC orders them to stop. Even if you trust that they're doing an honest inquiry into the source of large amounts - and I do not - they can't know that an arbitrary mixer output didn't come from casino winnings or Ethereum mining in the early days.

Re: Lazarus Group laundered $200M from 25 crypto hacks to fiat

#16

Post by zmgsabst »

echelon wrote: post #5
talldayo wrote: post #2

I'd imagine it's pretty easy, too. You've already got the assets in a poorly-accountable and liquid state - now all you need is a chump to unload the bag on. Almost makes you wonder how many cryptocurrency influencers are in the pocket of sanctioned nations...

> makes you wonder how many cryptocurrency influencers are in the pocket of sanctioned nations That's a wild thought that hadn't occurred to me. With increased KYC and tamp down, where does this money go next?

In much the same way the internet interprets censorship as damage and routes around it, financial networks consider lost opportunity due to regulation as damage and route around it.

People will assume I mean buying drugs, but actually, I mean:

- when I had $10k in my US bank account but couldn’t access it while traveling because I ran afoul of whatever KYC at Western Union after losing my bank card; or,

- today, when I couldn’t prepay for OpenAI platform credits because I have the “wrong kind” of bank account for them.

Society views the fascistic impulses of those in control stifling innovation and growth as damage — and will perennially route around them to get the system flourishing again.

Re: Lazarus Group laundered $200M from 25 crypto hacks to fiat

#18

Post by bitcoinmoney »

artdigital wrote: post #10
conception wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You run the bitcoin through mixers/online exchanges into monero/zerocoin and then to wherever to get out with fiat.

you still have to do the actual laundering at some point. just because you have $200 million now in monero (which you also need to get to first) doesn't mean you can just transfer them to your bank account. exchanges will KYC you for that, and you will definitely get flagged for a source of wealth / source of funds check to prove where you got it from

It's really easy. Use casinos in 3rd world countries to certify your money as gambling winnings. There must be underground network for this. So it looks like you're gambling and you got lucky. Very dangerous though. I heard that they charge 13% total fee. You come in at 5M$. You play for 1 week.. Leave with 160M or something. Bring that cash into the bank and deposit it.

Re: Lazarus Group laundered $200M from 25 crypto hacks to fiat

#19

Post by beeflet »

zmgsabst wrote: post #16
echelon wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> makes you wonder how many cryptocurrency influencers are in the pocket of sanctioned nations That's a wild thought that hadn't occurred to me. With increased KYC and tamp down, where does this money go next?

In much the same way the internet interprets censorship as damage and routes around it, financial networks consider lost opportunity due to regulation as damage and route around it. People will assume I mean buying drugs, but actually, I mean: - when I had $10k in my US bank account but couldn’t access it while traveling because I ran afoul of whatever KYC at Western Union after losing my bank card; or, - today, when…

>In much the same way the internet interprets censorship as damage and routes around it

I think this is an outdated meme that has not proven very true. I won't go into a full rant unless you want, but long story short the architecture of the internet has turned out to be more fragile than expected.

>Society views the fascistic impulses of those in control stifling innovation and growth as damage

Maybe not society as a whole, but certainly sub-societies do, so yes. In this case, Lazarus group is a sub-society that is parasitic to society at large.

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