Chainalysis said threat groups linked to North Korea moved and laundered tens of millions of dollars in stolen cryptocurrency through Xinbi Guarantee, a cybercrime marketplace that was recently sanctioned. The firm’s investigation found that the actors used a laundering vendor on the platform known as “Black U” to swap traceable stolen assets for stablecoins tied to pig-butchering and romance scams, then converted those funds into fiat through unlicensed over-the-counter brokers. Chainalysis said this pattern appeared in flows tied to the Bybit and WazirX hacks. The company also estimated that Xinbi has processed about $24 billion in total volume. Beyond laundering, the platform’s services were said to include bank card fraud, personal data trading, KYC evasion, scam platform development, surveillance equipment and malware. Xinbi has already been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control and the U.K. Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, while the U.S. Department of Justice has seized its infrastructure and frozen $52 million in illicit crypto assets.
Chainalysis said threat groups linked to North Korea moved and laundered tens of millions of dollars in stolen cryptocurrency through Xinbi Guarantee, a cybercrime marketplace that was recently sanctioned.
Black U was used to swap traceable funds
According to Chainalysis, the hackers used a laundering service on the Xinbi platform called “Black U” to exchange traceable stolen assets for stablecoins tied to illicit proceeds from pig-butchering and romance scams. Those funds were then converted into fiat through unlicensed over-the-counter platforms, reducing traceability.
A fund flow chart published by Chainalysis showed that the pattern involved funds connected to the Bybit and WazirX attack incidents.
Chainalysis estimates Xinbi handled about $24 billion
Chainalysis estimated that Xinbi has processed about $24 billion in total. The platform’s services also covered bank card fraud, personal data trading, KYC evasion, scam platform development, surveillance equipment and malware.
U.S. and U.K. authorities have sanctioned Xinbi
The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the U.K. Treasury’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (FCDO, as named in the source) have both imposed sanctions on Xinbi. The U.S. Department of Justice has also seized its infrastructure and frozen $52 million worth of illicit crypto assets.
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