Norway Recovers $5.8M in Crypto Funds From North Korea

• Norway has seized close to $6 million in crypto funds from Lazarus, a digital currency hacking group stationed in North Korea.
• The money stems from an early 2022 hack on the crypto gaming platform Axie Infinity, where more than $625 million in digital asset monies were stolen.
• Norway is garnering praise for setting a new record for taking back crypto funds and for helping to finance the North Korean regime and their nuclear weapons program.

Norway Seizes Crypto Funds from North Korea

Norway has taken back close to $6 million in digital funds from Lazarus, a digital currency hacking group based in the Asian country of North Korea. This is reportedly a new record set by any region.

Stolen Funds From Crypto Gaming Platform

The funds come from an attack that took place early 2022 on the crypto gaming platform Axie Infinity, where more than $625 million worth of digital asset monies were stolen. It is believed that North Korea has long been stealing digital currency to fund its nuclear program; however, they have denied these allegations.

Praise For Norwegian Law Enforcement

Norwegian senior public prosecutor Marianne Bender issued a statement commending law enforcement agents for doing all they could to get the money back and for showing such promise in retrieving the funds. Aleksander Larsen – founder of Sky Mavis (the company behind Axie Infinity) – publicly thanked police in his native country as well as Binance (world’s largest and most popular digital currency exchange) for assisting them with this task.

North Korea’s Long History of Crypto Theft

North Korea has been known to target areas in Asia, Europe, and North America when attempting to make off with illicit crypto funds over the years. A recent report even suggested that North Korea had been targeting cryptocurrency companies worldwide since 2020 – although no concrete evidence was provided at this time.

Conclusion

Overall, Norway is being recognized as setting a new standard when it comes to taking back stolen crypto money and helping finance the North Korean regime’s nuclear weapons program. Although only around $5.8 million was recovered out of an estimated loss of $625 million dollars during the attack on Axie Infinity, this still marks a big step forward in preventing future cybercrime related to cryptocurrency theft moving forward.