US Sanctions Two Russians Over North Korean IT Workers’ Crypto Cash-Outs

Dextape brief

By Dextape Desk · October 31, 2026

Ten people and one company were sanctioned by the US Treasury for allegedly aiding North Korean IT workers in landing jobs at real businesses under false identities and turning their crypto into cash. Chainalysis identified Russian nationals Ilya Aleksandrovich Boykov and Vitold Viktorovich Obertas as handling millions in crypto for front firms that placed the workers. In one traced case, a developer's wallet received stablecoin transfers every fortnight from late 2022 into early 2023, with funds later reaching Garantex, a Russian exchange since sanctioned by US authorities. OFAC says Obertas also acted as an intermediary for North Korean officials, converting nearly $2 million of crypto into fiat. Two North Korean nationals who managed IT workers in Russia are also covered, as is First Financial and Technical Development Center.

Why it matters: It shows how crypto intermediaries can turn fraudulently earned worker pay into cash, while generative AI makes recruitment fraud harder to detect.

Summary by Dextape, based on reporting by CryptoPotato. Written with AI from the publisher’s text and checked automatically for copied wording and unsupported figures. Not investment advice.