LONDON (Bywire News) – Norwegian police have seized a record $5.8 million worth of cryptocurrency that was stolen by North Korean hackers last year. The heist, which took place in March 2022, was one of the largest of its kind and was linked by the United States to a North Korean hacking group dubbed “Lazarus”.
The cryptocurrency, which was stolen from a blockchain project linked to the crypto-based game Axie Infinity, totaled $625 million. Norwegian Police and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation’s crypto-tracking specialists worked together to seize 60 million Norwegian crowns ($5.84 million), making it one of the largest seizures of money ever made in Norway and a record amount for a crypto seizure.
“This is money that can be used to finance the North Korean regime and their nuclear weapons programme,” said Marianne Bender, Norway’s senior public prosecutor.
North Korea has denied any involvement in the heist, however last year was the worst on record for cryptocurrency heists, with hackers stealing as much as $3.8 billion, led by attackers linked to North Korea, according to U.S.-based blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis. Sky Mavis, the company behind Axie Infinity, is based in Vietnam but its founder, Aleksander Larsen, is Norwegian. Larsen thanked Binance, who assisted Norwegian police with the seizure, in a tweet.
“When we learn of bad actors on our platform, we intervene and take appropriate action, including freezing funds and working with law enforcement to return funds to their rightful owner,” said a Binance spokesperson.
According to a currently confidential United Nations report, North Korea stole more cryptocurrency assets in 2022 than in any other year and targeted the networks of foreign aerospace and defence companies. The Norwegian police’s successful seizure of the stolen funds is a sign of progress in the fight against cybercrime and a step in the right direction for preventing North Korea from profiting from their criminal activities.
(Reporting by Elizabeth Howcroft and James Pearson; Editing by Nick Macfie and Michael O’Sullivan)
