US Sanctions on Russians Linked to North Korea

The US Department of the Treasury has added Russian citizens Ilya Boykov and Vitaly Obertas to its sanctions list. According to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), they are involved in laundering funds for North Korea.

Ilya Boykov

Since 2024, he has processed cryptocurrency transactions totaling $3.5 million. These operations were conducted on behalf of Alice, a company registered in Vladivostok. The company is linked to the North Korean state IT network Chinyong.

Vitaly Obertas

Since January 2025, he has converted nearly $2 million in cryptocurrency. Additionally, through other currency operations, he facilitated at least $1.25 million on behalf of North Korea. The crypto exchange Garantex was used to cash out the funds.

Tether has frozen 33 wallets on the TRON network. A total of 27 million USDT were held across these addresses. Among the frozen addresses are those linked to Ilya Boykov and Vitaly Obertas.