Evidence Suggests Binance Involved in Laundering Over 1 Trillion Won by North Korean Hackers

Organizations Involved in Cambodian Fraud Also Used Binance
Transactions Linked to Mexican Drug Cartels and Chinese Fentanyl Trafficking Groups Detected

Allegations have emerged that Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, was involved in laundering proceeds worth over 1 trillion won generated by North Korean hackers.

According to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) on November 17 (local time), transaction records confirm that approximately $900 million (around 1.3163 trillion won) worth of Ethereum stolen by North Korea through hacking was funneled into five Binance accounts during the money laundering process.

The cryptocurrency swap service 'Thorchain' was used to convert this Ethereum into Bitcoin, and during this period, both the transaction volume of the five problematic Binance accounts and Thorchain surged. Although it has not been confirmed whether these accounts are owned by North Korea, Jonathan Leiter, CEO of the cryptocurrency tracking firm ChainArgos, explained, "At that time, the only plausible source capable of generating such transaction volume was the Ethereum stolen by North Korea."

This money is believed to be part of the $1.5 billion (about 2 trillion won) worth of Ethereum stolen by North Korea's hacking group 'Lazarus' from the Bybit exchange in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in February. This incident was recorded as the largest cryptocurrency hack in history at the time.

The ICIJ stated that, to analyze this, they reviewed transaction records from cryptocurrency exchanges such as Binance, working with more than 20 blockchain experts from academia and industry, as well as analytics firms including Crystal Intelligence and ChainArgos.

The ICIJ also pointed out that Binance failed to block suspicious transactions related to funds from criminal organizations involved in human trafficking, fraud, drugs, and money laundering.

CEO Leiter commented, "Binance should have detected these transactions," adding, "Even a poorly performing, flawed detection tool would have caught such suspicious activity."

In addition to North Korea, it was confirmed that Huiyuan Group, known to be involved in large-scale fraud in Cambodia, deposited at least $400 million (about 585 billion won) into Binance between 2024 and 2025.

The ICIJ also reported that transaction records linked to Mexican drug cartels, Chinese fentanyl trafficking organizations, and Russian money laundering groups were identified.

In response, Binance stated, "It is impossible to block incoming deposits," adding, "We work closely with global enforcement agencies, investigate suspicious deposits, and take appropriate action if potential illegal activity is identified."