US Judge Orders Forfeiture of Crypto Linked to North Korean IT Workers

A US federal judge has ordered the forfeiture of cryptocurrency linked to North Korean IT workers. The ruling, made by Judge Rudolph Contreras on September 3, comes as part of a civil forfeiture case brought by the Justice Department in June 2025.

The court found that a cryptocurrency wallet starting with '0x81c4' received approximately $212,700 worth of USDC and USDT from at least 14 addresses used to receive payments for North Korean IT workers. The funds will be forfeited to the US government.

The Justice Department had initially sought forfeiture of over $7.74 million in assets, including cryptocurrency, nonfungible tokens, and Ethereum Name Service domains allegedly connected to North Korean money laundering and sanctions-evasion operations.