An in-depth investigation has unraveled an advanced cryptocurrency laundering operation that links a Chinese over-the-counter (OTC) trader to North Korea's infamous Lazarus Group.
An in-depth investigation has unraveled an advanced cryptocurrency laundering operation that links a Chinese over-the-counter (OTC) trader to North Korea's infamous Lazarus Group. Renowned blockchain sleuth ZachXBT revealed Yicong Wang as the linchpin in laundering millions of stolen digital cash.
Operating under several pseudonyms, including 'Seawang,' 'Greatdtrader,' and 'BestRhea977,' Wang is believed to have been converting stolen cryptocurrency into cash through bank transfers since 2022. The investigation had started after a complaint from a trader whose account was frozen after a peer-to-peer transaction with Wang.
Supposedly, the scale of Wang's operations is immense; on-chain data shows $17 million from over 25 Lazarus-related hacks went to one Ethereum address. This address was placed under a partial sanction from Tether in November 2023, freezing 374,000 USDT. Following the restriction, some remaining portions were laundered through Tornado Cash, while substantial chunks of ETH were later aggregated into another wallet.
Wang's actions were traced back to various high-profile crypto thefts, including the $4.5 million breach in Alex Labs this May. His digital trail also traces back to attacks on Irys, EasyFi, Bondly, and Maverick. In December 2023 alone, it was determined that $45,000 was laundered into Tron and then sent out to a variety of addresses attributed to Wang.
Though banned on platforms like Paxful and Noones, Wang has apparently adapted by going offsite for operations and has actively continued to support Lazarus’ activities in recent weeks, ZachXBT said in his report.
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