Cryptocurrency mixer was used to launder assets stolen from Axie and Horizon.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned Sinbad.io, a virtual currency mixer known to facilitate money laundering activities for the Lazarus Group, a state-sponsored cyber hacking group associated with North Korea.
Sinbad has been implicated in numerous incidents involving the laundering of stolen digital assets, specifically linked to heists carried out by the Lazarus Group, notably the Horizon Bridge and Axie Infinity exploits.
Additionally, Sinbad is alleged to be utilized by cybercriminals engaged in various illicit activities, including sanctions evasion, drug trafficking, and the procurement of child sexual abuse materials, along with facilitating illegal transactions on darknet marketplaces.
“Mixing services that enable criminal actors, such as the Lazarus Group, to launder stolen assets will face serious consequences,” said Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo.
By targeting the infrastructure that enables money laundering, the Treasury aims to dismantle the financial channels that empower malicious actors like the Lazarus Group.
Source: https://thedefiant.io/us-treasury-sanctions-crypto-mixer-sinbad