The US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) added ten individuals and one organization to its sanctions lists on October 28, alleging connections to schemes placing North Korean IT workers in jobs overseas. The targets include Russian nationals Vitold Obertas and Ilya Boikov.
According to US officials, North Korean specialists used forged documents, other people's identities, and invented employment histories to obtain jobs at companies in the United States and elsewhere. The Treasury says some of the earnings were transferred to North Korean state entities and could have helped finance the country's weapons programs.
OFAC alleges that Obertas facilitated cryptocurrency conversions worth nearly $2 million starting in January 2025, as well as other currency transactions totaling at least $1.25 million for North Korean representatives. The department says Boikov helped a North Korea-linked company, Alis, conduct operations beginning in 2024, including the conversion of cryptocurrency worth the equivalent of $3.5 million and logistical support.
The sanctions package also includes the First Financial and Technical Development Center, which the Treasury describes as a North Korean-controlled entity operating in Russia. US authorities allege that North Korean IT workers used it to receive income and conduct financial transactions.
An OFAC designation blocks listed parties' assets under US jurisdiction and restricts dealings with them by US persons. The individuals' alleged roles are described in the Treasury's account; a sanctions designation is not a criminal conviction.