North Korea has been accused of stealing £17 million in Bitcoin from Lykke, a UK-registered crypto trading platform. The hack forced the company to freeze transactions, close operations and later settle them in court.
The UK’s Financial Sanctions Implementation Bureau, part of the Treasury Department, has blamed “malicious democratic cyber-earners” for theft. Telecommunications. The attack hit both Bitcoin and the Ethereum network.
The cybergang behind the robbery is believed to be Lazarus, the same North Korean hacking group linked to several major crypto attacks around the world. If confirmed, this is the biggest crypto theft ever from a UK target.
The stolen money is suspected to be part of Pyongyang’s broader efforts to fund nuclear weapons programs and military projects, with billions already pouring in past crypto attacks.
Cryptocurrency was stolen and washed on a shady platform
Lazarus was also separately identified as an attacker for White Stream, an Israeli crypto research company. They tracked the funds and said hackers cleaned the money through two crypto companies widely known for helping users hide their trucks.
“They moved their funds using a platform that basically ignored money laundering rules,” said Hoitestream. These mixers and unregulated exchanges made it difficult to follow the trail.
But not everyone agrees. Some researchers argue that there is not enough robust evidence to directly refer to North Korea. They argue that it’s too early to say for sure who violated the platform.
The company’s Ricke, which hit Hack, was founded in 2015 by Richard Olsen, a descendant of Swiss bank legend Julius Bear. Zug (also known as “Crypto Valley” in Switzerland, but its company registration was in the UK.
Lykke promised a fee-free transaction, attracting a significant portion of retail users, but things went into spiral after the attack. The company announced a $22.8 million loss last year and closed the transaction by December 2023 despite saying it could recover its user fund.
British courts settled the company as customers fought back
In March 2025, a UK court ordered Lykke to be settled after more than 70 users took legal action to recover the funds. These customers said they lost £5.7 million when the platform stopped working.
InterPath advisories were brought to handle asset distribution and clean up any confusion. The Swiss parent company also settled its settlement last year.
Before the hack, the UK financial conduct authorities had already warned about Lykke in 2023. That red flag wasn’t enough for users to stop their investment, and when a robbery occurred, Lykke’s UK division couldn’t keep up with the bill.
According to a filing from a British court, Richard was declared bankrupt in January 2025 and is currently being investigated in Switzerland for possible criminal misconduct.
His company’s collapse is now part of a larger story. North Korea continues to grab codes to keep its regime floating no matter who gets burned in the process.
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