US sanctions a cryptocurrency company
The Treasury Department issued an injunction against the cryptocurrency company Blender, for allegedly being linked to North Korea
The United States Department of the Treasury announced for the first time sanctions against a cryptocurrency mixing company, accused in this case of serving to hide funds linked to the North Korean regime.
The firm in question, Blender, would have served to divert 20.5 million dollars from the largest cryptocurrency theft recorded to date, perpetrated in March by a group of “hackers” related to Pyongyang and valued at 620 million dollars.
Treasury Assistant Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson defended Blender’s blacklisting, recalling that “cryptocurrency blenders that contribute to illicit transactions pose a threat to the national security interests of the United States.”
For his part, the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, warned that the Kim Jong Un regime is resorting to this type of company to try to continue financing its weapons programs, evading the “forceful” sanctions adopted by both Washington and the United States the ONU.
The head of US diplomacy stressed that the Joe Biden Administration will continue to combat North Korea’s “illegal cyber activities“, although he has reiterated that the door to diplomacy and dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang remains open.
K. Tovar
Source: Swissinfo
