OFAC Targets North Korean IT Worker Network That Raised About $800M in Crypto in 2024

On 14 March 2026, the U.S. Treasury's OFAC imposed sanctions on six people and two companies accused of using remote IT jobs to channel roughly $800 million in 2024 to North Korea's weapons programs. The network allegedly relied on stolen identities, deepfake-enhanced job interviews, and crypto conversions, while global illicit crypto flows climbed to an estimated $154–$158 billion in 2025 with sanctions evasion, large-scale hacks, and industrialized fraud on the rise.