Note that this has nothing to do with the FreePascal/Lazarus project…
Doesn't have anything to do with the guy in the bible either.
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
#22Our own banks commit 10x more fraud than that. See TD Bank money laundering case ongoing, could reach $4 billion in fines. Wells Fargo $3 billion in fines for fraudulent charges on fake accounts. JPMorgan Chase $1 bil settlement for UST and precious metal futures fraud.
And those are just the ones I can remember from the last few years.
Re: Lazarus Group laundered $200M from 25 crypto hacks to fiat
#23Serious question, if the United States decided to unilaterally cut North Korea off from the Internet, how hard would that be to do? Could we just knock out a few cables?
North Korea pretty much only uses the Internet for scams Or to make money in violation of sanctions. They certainly don’t allow their citizens to use it for anything else, and they don’t allow their citizens to leave the country because they would never come back.
Even if it were only temporary, suddenly cutting off the Internet to the country would expose all of those remote workers to the people who employ them and don’t realize they are employing North Koreans when they all disappear at once.
Is this just not logistically feasible? or are we just too afraid it would be unpalatable to our allies? I can’t be the first person who has thought of this.
Re: Lazarus Group laundered $200M from 25 crypto hacks to fiat
#24Serious question, if the United States decided to unilaterally cut North Korea off from the Internet, how hard would that be to do? Could we just knock out a few cables? North Korea pretty much only uses the Internet for scams Or to make money in violation of sanctions. They certainly don’t allow their citizens to use it for anything else, and they don’t allow their citizens to leave the country because they would ne…
Most of North Korea’s traffic is routed through China so it’d require cutting the latter off from the internet. With the amount of submarine cables connecting China to other countries, it wouldn’t be very feasible.
Re: Lazarus Group laundered $200M from 25 crypto hacks to fiat
#25Serious question, if the United States decided to unilaterally cut North Korea off from the Internet, how hard would that be to do? Could we just knock out a few cables? North Korea pretty much only uses the Internet for scams Or to make money in violation of sanctions. They certainly don’t allow their citizens to use it for anything else, and they don’t allow their citizens to leave the country because they would ne…
You think they are doing this from NK ip blocks/asn? Their physical links are more or less enemy of enemy with US, so they have no incentive to block. Its impossible to keep them off the internet.
Re: Lazarus Group laundered $200M from 25 crypto hacks to fiat
#26Earlier 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…
> 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,
Why would you first stop be western Union if you lost your bank card? Ignoring my confusion as to why you didn’t have a credit card handy, or a phone with a banking app handy if you’re well off enough to have $10k in the bank. Why would your first thought be going to western union, a well known haven for scammers everywhere. OF COURSE it set off all sorts of red flags with your bank. I’d be more concerned if they didn’t put up roadblocks to someone claiming to be you, in another country, trying to pull out large sums of money at a western union.
Re: Lazarus Group laundered $200M from 25 crypto hacks to fiat
#27Serious question, if the United States decided to unilaterally cut North Korea off from the Internet, how hard would that be to do? Could we just knock out a few cables? North Korea pretty much only uses the Internet for scams Or to make money in violation of sanctions. They certainly don’t allow their citizens to use it for anything else, and they don’t allow their citizens to leave the country because they would ne…
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Re: Lazarus Group laundered $200M from 25 crypto hacks to fiat
#28This is impressive analysis, but have I overlooked the laundering part? Money laundering is providing an explanation about why it is clean, not hiding the reason that it might be dirty.
Most of the crypto world operates on "assumed clean" (blacklist) thinking so you don't have to fully clean anything.
Re: Lazarus Group laundered $200M from 25 crypto hacks to fiat
#29Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
How to turn monero or Bitcoin into cash, I think is the hardest part.
Laundering it after that is, in fact, easier.
But the first problem still isn't solved with your statement I think.
Re: Lazarus Group laundered $200M from 25 crypto hacks to fiat
#30I'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…
any exchange willing to trade for those amounts do KYC and follows AML
This is not true AFAIK and it used to really be not true. There were plenty of no-KYC exchanges or exchanges that offered no-KYC accounts if you had the right connections.