🤑 Crypto Heist Chaos: Lazarus Group Steals $23M, Leaves Founder Bankrupt 😱

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Well, butter my biscuit and call me impressed-North Korea’s Lazarus Group is at it again, this time pulling off a $22.8 million crypto heist that left UK-registered exchange Lykke deader than my high school drama club’s production of *Cats*. 🚀💸 Investors are suing, and the founder, Richard Olsen, is facing bankruptcy faster than I can say “bad decisions.” 🥴

The British Treasury’s sanctions office (aka the fun police) pointed their finger at these state-backed hackers for swiping Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other shiny digital coins. Lykke, once the darling of zero-fee trading, is now a cautionary tale. Meanwhile, Pyongyang is rolling in stolen crypto dough, funding weapons programs like it’s Black Friday at Kim Jong-un’s Missile Mart. 🎆🔫

According to *The Telegraph*, North Korea has been on a global crypto crime spree, making off with billions to dodge sanctions like a boss. 🌍💰 And poor Richard Olsen, great-grandson of Swiss banking royalty Julius Baer, is now starring in his own tragedy: *Bankruptcy & Liquidation: The Musical*. 🎭💔

Swiss-based platform forced into liquidation

Olsen launched Lykke in 2015, operating out of Switzerland’s “crypto valley” in Zug (basically the Silicon Valley of yodeling and chocolate). 🏔️🍫 The platform promised fee-free trading, which sounds great until hackers show up and ruin the party. 🎉🚫

The Treasury’s OFSI (Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation-try saying that three times fast) confirmed the attack was the work of North Korean “cyberactors.” Because apparently, “hackers” wasn’t fancy enough. 🎭💻

Lykke lost Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies, forcing them to shut down faster than a reality TV show with bad ratings. 📉✨

Experts disagree over conclusions

Whitestream, an Israeli crypto research group, also blamed Lazarus and claimed the hackers laundered funds through shady crypto companies. 🧼💸 But other experts were like, “Hold up, let’s not jump to conclusions-we need more evidence than a blurry screenshot.” 🕵️‍♂️🔍

Meanwhile, the Financial Conduct Authority dropped a warning about Lykke in 2023, saying they weren’t authorized to operate in the UK. 🚨🇬🇧 Surprise, surprise-they weren’t exactly playing by the rules. 🤷‍♀️

Despite promising to return customer funds, Lykke froze trading after the hack and officially called it quits in December. ❄️💔

Customers pursue recovery through liquidation

Over 70 customers filed a winding-up petition in UK courts, claiming £5.7 million in losses. 😭💸 Lykke’s Swiss parent company entered liquidation, and Olsen was declared bankrupt in January. His next venture? Probably a GoFundMe. 🎗️💸

British legal filings hint that Olsen’s facing criminal investigations in Switzerland, but he’s ghosting the media like it’s 2009 MySpace. 👻📰

As for the Lazarus Group, they’re still out there, hacking and laundering like it’s their job. Which, let’s be real, it kind of is. 🕶️💻

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2025-08-17 21:38