Alejandro Cao de Benós, the primary Western contact for business with Kim Jong Un’s North Korea, is facing scrutiny from U.S. authorities for alleged violations of sanctions.
What Happened: Cao de Benós, a resident of Tarragona, Spain, and an IT consultant is a semi-official spokesperson for North Korea. He previously organized North Korea’s first cryptocurrency conference, which, according to U.S. authorities, violated sanctions. The FBI sought his extradition, leading to his arrest by Spanish police in late 2023. He was later released pending extradition.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Cao de Benós revealed that despite the charges, he is “not going to stop” his activities and is “not afraid.”
Cao de Benós is accused of violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, a U.S. law often used to target alleged violators of sanctions against North Korea.
His passport is currently in Spanish custody due to an unrelated firearms charge. Cao de Benós claims that the U.S. has withdrawn its extradition request. He provided Bloomberg with purported email exchanges between the U.S. Embassy and the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, suggesting a lack of “dual criminality” between the two countries regarding the charges.
"I'm just a person up against the biggest empire of this time, the US, which has a lot of resources, with millions [of dollars] dedicated to destroying North Korea,” Cao de Benós said.
Despite the ongoing legal issues, Cao de Benós considers this a victory, stating, “Having won this first battle against the U.S., it shows me that I’m going in the right direction.”
Why It Matters: This case follows a pattern of North Korea’s alleged use of cryptocurrency to evade sanctions. In 2022, Cao de Benós and a U.K. businessman were accused of recruiting an Ethereum developer to help North Korea evade U.S. sanctions.
Furthermore, a UN Security Council investigation revealed that North Korea obtains about half of its foreign currency earnings from cyberattacks on cryptocurrency-related firms, causing an estimated $3 billion in damages.
Image via Shutterstock
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