Chinese OTC Trader Allegedly Aids Lazarus Group in Crypto Laundering

According to Foresight News, blockchain investigator ZachXBT has revealed that Chinese OTC trader Yicong Wang has been assisting the Lazarus Group in converting millions of dollars worth of stolen cryptocurrencies into cash via bank transfers since 2022. Wang, who operates under aliases such as Seawang, Greatdtrader, and BestRhea977, came under scrutiny a few months ago when a follower reported that their trading account was frozen after completing a P2P transaction with him. The follower provided ZachXBT with one of Wang's Tron wallet addresses through a WeChat conversation screenshot. Upon examining blockchain data linked to Wang, ZachXBT identified a high risk of illicit funds associated with Alex Labs, co-founder of Irys, who suffered a $4.5 million loss in a hack by the Lazarus Group in May 2024. Additionally, an Ethereum address blacklisted by Tether in August 2024, holding 948K ETH, was directly connected to Wang. The blockchain data indicates that Wang has continued to actively assist the Lazarus Group in recent weeks.