ZachXBT Uncovered $1 Billion Money Laundering Scheme for Lazarus Group

Analyst ZachXBT uncovered a money laundering scheme worth over $1 billion by a Chinese syndicate for the Lazarus Group. The investigation involved infiltration and the use of personal funds to establish trust.

Infiltrating the Criminal Network

To gain access to network participants, the analyst posed as a potential client. To build trust, he used his own $349,000, agreeing to lose about 5% on each trade.

Identifying the Cluster and Freezing Assets

The attacker began sharing information about future movements of stolen funds. This helped identify a cluster worth over $12 million, after which Tether froze 442,000 USDT linked to it.

Investigation Results

The obtained data was passed to law enforcement agencies and private experts. Since 2022, investigations have led to the freezing of over $75 million linked to North Korean operations.