WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice secured court approval to seize $1.2 billion in cryptocurrency stolen from Binance in a security breach attributed to North Korea's Lazarus Group, also designated as TraderTraitor.
The seizure targets illicit assets directly connected to the state-sponsored hacking operation. Lazarus Group has historically conducted cyberattacks including cryptocurrency theft to fund North Korea's weapons programs.
Simultaneously, the DOJ disrupted FaceStealer, a deepfake scam operation run by the same North Korean actors. The scheme uses artificial intelligence to generate fraudulent digital content for phishing and social engineering attacks.
The $1.2 billion recovery marks one of the largest cryptocurrency seizures from a state-sponsored actor. Repatriating the funds involves tracing assets across multiple blockchain networks and coordinating with international law enforcement partners.
The action reflects escalating U.S. enforcement against entities facilitating cryptocurrency-related crimes and large-scale digital asset theft.
