North Korean IT workers allegedly used false, stolen, and borrowed identities to get hired and work remotely for US firms
BBC NEWS | Published December 13, 2024
A federal court in St Louis has indicted 14 North Koreans for allegedly being part of a long-running conspiracy aimed at extorting funds from US companies and funneling money to Pyongyang’s weapons programmes.
The wider scheme allegedly involves thousands of North Korean IT workers who use false, stolen, and borrowed identities from people in the US and other countries to get hired and work remotely for US firms.
The indictement says the defendants and others working with them generated at least $88m (£51.5m) for the North Korean regime over a six-year period.
North Korea’s mission to the UN did not immediately reply to a request for comment from BBC News.
The prosecutors say the suspects worked for two North Korean-controlled companies – China-based Yanbian Silverstar and Russia-based Volasys Silverstar.
They were among a group of 130 North Korean IT workers employed by the two firms where they were internally referred to as “IT Warriors”, according to the US Department of Justice.
The suspects were allegedly ordered to seek salaries of $10,000 a month from their US employers.
On top of the monthly wage, they would also raise funds for the North Korean regime by stealing valuable company information and threatening to leak it unless the employer made an extortion payment.
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SOURCE: www.bbc.com
RELATED: North Koreans indicted in scheme using IT workers to funnel money for weapons programmes
The FBI in St Louis on Dec 12, 2024, announced the indictments of 14 North Korean nationals in a scheme using IT workers who used false identities to get remote jobs with US companies, then funnelled their wages and other funds back to North Korea for use in weapons programmes. (Photo: AP/Jim Salter)
CHANNEL NEWS ASIA | Published December 13, 2024
ST LOUIS: Fourteen North Korean nationals have been indicted in a scheme using information technology workers with false identities to contract with US companies – workers who then funnelled their wages to North Korea for the development of ballistic missiles and other weapons, the head of the FBI office in St Louis said on Thursday (Dec 12).
The scheme involving thousands of IT workers generated more than US$88 million for the North Korean government, Ashley T Johnson, special agent in charge of the St Louis FBI office, said at a news conference.
In addition to their wages, the workers stole sensitive information from companies or threatened to leak information in exchange for extortion payments, Johnson said.
Victims included defrauded companies and people whose identities were stolen from across the US, including Missouri, Johnson said. The indictments were filed on Wednesday in US District Court in St Louis. All 14 people face wire fraud, money laundering, identity theft and other charges.
Most of those accused are believed to be in North Korea. Johnson acknowledged that bringing them to justice would be difficult. To help, the US Department of State is offering a US$5 million reward for information leading to any of the suspects.
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SOURCE: www.channelnewsasia.com
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