The Radical Reading Room

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced Wednesday, Oct. 28, sanctions on 10 North Korean individuals for their roles in overseas information-technology worker schemes that defraud U.S. businesses. Treasury said the action targets facilitators and financial networks that help sustain the schemes and move proceeds for North Korea.

The department said operatives use fraudulent documents, stolen identities and fabricated personas to conceal their identities and secure jobs at legitimate companies, including U.S. businesses. Treasury said North Korea appropriates most of the workers’ wages, generating revenue for its weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs.

Treasury said the networks use sophisticated cryptocurrency transactions, money-laundering techniques and emerging technologies to generate and transfer millions of dollars for the North Korean government. It described the sanctions as targeting key facilitators and financial channels involved in sustaining the schemes and moving illicit proceeds.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the overseas operatives target American companies, weaponize sensitive data and extort businesses for substantial payments. He said the department would continue using available tools to protect U.S. businesses and hold those responsible accountable. The announcements describe the sanctions but do not report that the schemes have ended or that the transferred proceeds have been recovered.