The U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on six individuals and two companies it says helped North Korea convert $800 million in 2024 into crypto to launder the money and fund its weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs.

The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said Thursday that the operation placed IT workers into foreign companies and channeled their earnings back to Pyongyang. The network operated across multiple countries including Vietnam, Laos and Spain, according to the Treasury.

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) has for years targeted cryptocurrency protocols and networks to steal and launder funds. Last year, hackers linked to the country stole a record $2 billion of crypto, according to…