North Korea Loses $5.8M in Crypto Funds to Norway

• Norway has seized close to $6 million in crypto funds from Lazarus, a North Korean digital currency hacking group.
• The stolen money was taken from the crypto gaming platform Axie Infinity in early 2022.
• Binance, the world’s largest digital currency exchange, assisted Norwegian law enforcement agents to return the funds to their rightful owner(s).

Norway Takes Back Stolen Crypto Funds

The European nation of Norway has recently set a new record after seizing close to $6 million in crypto funds from Lazarus, a digital currency hacking group based in North Korea. This money was allegedly stolen from the crypto gaming platform Axie Infinity at the beginning of 2022; more than $625 million was taken in total.

Binance Assists with Recovery Efforts

In order to recover these funds, Norway called upon Binance – the world’s largest and most popular digital currency exchange – for assistance. Senior public prosecutor Marianne Bender commented that this is money that can potentially be used to finance North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, making it all the more important for action to be taken. Sky Mavis, the company behind Axie Infinity and run by Norwegian founder Aleksander Larsen, thanked police for their efforts as well as Binance for its cooperation when it comes to freezing funds and working with law enforcement personnel.

North Korea’s History of Crypto Theft

Reports have long suggested that North Korea has been stealing cryptocurrency assets since years ago in an attempt to fund its growing nuclear program. However, there has been denial on behalf of this Asian nation regarding any involvement with digital theft activities. It is no easy feat taking back cryptocurrency funds once they have been taken away; however, Norway shows promise when it comes doing just that.

Norwegian Accolades

For recovering around $5.8 million out of a total stolen sum of nearly ten times that amount ($625 million), Norway is garnering some much-deserved recognition and praise from citizens around the globe – including those from within its own borders – for achieving such success given how difficult it can be in retrieving stolen crypto assets.

Conclusion

Given how much effort went into taking back these stolen cryptocurrency funds from North Korea’s Lazarus group – not least of which was done by Norwegian police and Binance – it should come as no surprise that such an accomplishment merits celebration on many fronts throughout Europe and beyond!