N.Korea's Lazarus Group launders $900mn in crypto: Report

Over $7 billion in cryptocurrency has been illicitly laundered through cross-chain crime, with North Korea's Lazarus Group being linked to the theft of around $900 million between July 2022 and July of this year, a new report has shown.

According to the blockchain analytics firm Elliptic, cross-chain services are fast becoming the preferred money laundering method for a range of cybercrimes, including scams and crypto thefts. 

Cross-chain crime refers to the swapping of crypto assets between different tokens or blockchains -- often in rapid succession and with no legitimate business purpose -- to obfuscate their criminal origin. 

Moreover, the report found that decentralised exchanges (DEXs), cross-chain bridges and coin swap services have processed $7 billion of illicit funds. 

"In relation to our previous estimate of $4.1 billion in October 2022, this includes (a) new cross-chain crime occurring since then and (b) any cross-chain crime we have since identified that has taken place before then," the researchers said.