Network’s Scheme Harms American Businesses
WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Vitaliy Sergeyevich Andreyev, Kim Ung Sun, Shenyang Geumpungri Network Technology Co., Ltd, and Korea Sinjin Trading Corporation for their roles in a fraudulent information technology (IT) worker scheme orchestrated by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) government.
“The North Korean regime continues to target American businesses through fraud schemes involving its overseas IT workers, who steal data and demand ransom,” said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence John K. Hurley. “Under President Trump, Treasury is committed to protecting Americans from these schemes and holding the guilty accountable.”
Today’s action expands on the designation of Chinyong Information Technology Cooperation Company, targeting additional entities in its network and combatting its use of cryptocurrency for sanctions evasion. These designations also build on several other actions OFAC has taken in the last several months to stop the DPRK’s IT worker schemes, including sanctions on July 8 and July 24.
This action is part of the United States’ whole-of-government effort to counter the DPRK’s wide-ranging revenue generation schemes, in close coordination with our allies and partners. As part of that collaboration, the Department of State and the foreign ministries of Japan and the Republic of Korea today issued a joint statement on the threats posed by DPRK IT workers.