{"id":8674,"date":"2024-01-18T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-18T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/asia\/north-korean-hackers-are-laundering-money-via-southeast-asias-underground-banks-and-casinos\/"},"modified":"2024-01-18T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-01-18T00:00:00","slug":"north-korean-hackers-are-laundering-money-via-southeast-asias-underground-banks-and-casinos","status":"publish","type":"asia","link":"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/asia\/north-korean-hackers-are-laundering-money-via-southeast-asias-underground-banks-and-casinos\/","title":{"rendered":"North Korean Hackers Are Laundering Money via Southeast Asia\u2019s Underground Banks and Casinos"},"content":{"rendered":"

UNODC Regional Representative for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, Jeremy Douglas, told <\/span><\/span>Reuters<\/em><\/span><\/span> the explosion of casinos and crypto has “supercharged” organized criminal networks in Southeast Asia. Douglas stated it came as no surprise sophisticated threat actors <\/span><\/span>“would look to leverage the same underground banking systems and service providers.”<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

North Korean hackers were responsible for the theft of $41 million in cryptocurrency from Stake.com.<\/a><\/u><\/span><\/p>\n

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Funds stolen by Lazarus,<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/u><\/span> which the FBI states is under North Korea’s state intelligence bureau control, is a major source of funding for Pyongyang and its nuclear weapons programmes.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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“a hub for organized crime and scamming operations”<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Found in the Myawaddy village of Shwe Kokko, KK Garden is a casino and entertainment complex with Chinese investment, according to local officials. Those who have been lucky enough to escape the compound have a much different view, however, claiming that it is a hub for organized crime and scamming operations.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The criminals in charge often lure people from other Southeast Asia countries by offering easy work and extravagant perks, with a particular focus on Malaysian victims. Once they arrive, they are held prisoner and forced to work in online scam centers. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Stories from victims and their families can offer us a glimpse inside the “Garden of Hell.”<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Casinos the conduit<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The UNODC report stated Southeast Asia’s casinos, junkets, and unregulated crypto exchanges have become “foundational pieces” of the illegal banking structures used by regional organized crime networks.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Casinos, junkets & #crypto<\/a>: major drivers of #moneylaundering<\/a>, underground banking & #cyberfraud<\/a> in East and Southeast Asia. New policy brief https:\/\/t.co\/RESssnqPTG<\/a> #organizedcrime<\/a> #Mekong<\/a> #ASEAN<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/Oeunz54fUZ<\/a><\/p>\n

— UNODC SEAsia-Pacific (@UNODC_SEAP) January 15, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n