Crypto investigator ZachXBT has raised serious allegations against Yicong Wang, a Chinese over-the-counter (OTC) trader, claiming he has been laundering millions of dollars in cryptocurrency for North Korea’s notorious Lazarus Group since 2022.
This hacking group is infamous for its involvement in significant crypto thefts, including a reported $35 million laundered through Cambodia in July and an accusation from the U.S. in October of stealing $879 million.
ZachXBT’s investigation suggests that Yicong plays a pivotal role in facilitating the movement of stolen funds through peer-to-peer transactions and social engineering tactics. He shared a detailed flowchart linking Yicong’s wallet addresses to various hacked accounts, underscoring his alleged involvement in these illicit activities.
Interestingly, one of ZachXBT’s followers reported that their exchange account was frozen after a transaction with Yicong, who was later identified as having laundered stolen funds. This user provided evidence, including wallet information and chat screenshots, which helped ZachXBT trace the flow of money.
In a surprising twist, Yicong reportedly contacted the same user again, proposing to exchange USDT for Chinese yuan at a rate significantly below market value—a tactic often associated with scams, reminiscent of another case involving a different individual known as Valeria “Bitmama” Fedyakina.
While ZachXBT did not disclose a specific figure, he indicated that Yicong has been instrumental in converting millions of dollars in stolen cryptocurrency into cash since 2022. He highlighted several multimillion-dollar laundering incidents, showcasing Yicong’s crucial role in these operations.
Moreover, ZachXBT pointed out the challenges in tracking these funds, estimating that between $100 million and $150 million has been stolen from Coinbase users over the past year due to social engineering and phishing scams.
