Lazarus Group’s $12 Million Crypto Laundering Operation Uncovered

Unprecedented Laundering Activity Detected

The notorious Lazarus Group, linked to North Korea, has reportedly utilized the coin-mixing service Tornado Cash to launder a staggering $12 million in ether (ETH) within the last day.

Elliptic, a leading blockchain analytics firm, has tracked over 40 transactions sent by the Lazarus Group to Tornado Cash on the 13th and 14th of March. The same firm has previously linked a $100 million Heco Bridge and HTX hack in November to the Lazarus Group.

Lazarus Group’s Infamous Track Record

Over the past six years, the Lazarus Group has been implicated in cyber heists totaling more than $3 billion, as per a report by cybersecurity firm Recorded Future.

In August 2022, Tornado Cash was targeted by U.S. sanctions, which led the Lazarus Group to switch to another mixer, Sinbad, to conceal their illicit gains. However, Sinbad was seized by U.S. authorities in November, forcing Lazarus to revert to using Tornado Cash.

Founders of Tornado Cash Facing Legal Trouble

Roman Storm, one of the founders of Tornado Cash, was arrested last year and is currently awaiting trial on charges of money laundering. Another founder, Roman Semenov, has been charged but remains at large.

Despite being hit with sanctions twice, Tornado Cash continues to operate through decentralized smart contracts that are immune to seizure or shutdown.

“The Lazarus Group’s return to Tornado Cash likely reflects the dwindling number of large-scale mixers in operation, following law enforcement’s successful takedowns of services such as Sinbad.io and Blender.io,” Elliptic commented.