US Treasury sanctions crypto mixer Sinbad, alleging North Korea ties

The government department has previously imposed sanctions on crypto mixers Blender and Tornado Cash despite many in the space pushing back on actions against software tools.

The United States Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on cryptocurrency mixer Sinbad, alleging the platform was responsible for laundering funds for the North Korea-based hacking group Lazarus.

In a Nov. 29 announcement, OFAC said Sinbad had “processed millions of dollars’ worth of virtual currency from Lazarus Group heists,” including the June 2022 hack of Horizon Bridge, the March 2022 hack of Axie Infinity’s Ronin Bridge and the June 2023 hack of Atomic Wallet. The hacks resulted in a combined loss of roughly $850 million at the time.

“Mixing services that enable criminal actors, such as the Lazarus Group, to launder stolen assets will face serious consequences,” said Wally Adeyemo, deputy secretary of the Treasury. “The Treasury Department and its U.S. government partners stand ready to deploy all tools at their disposal to prevent virtual currency mixers, like Sinbad, from facilitating illicit activities.”

This is a developing story, and further information will be added as it becomes available.