Gold, crypto & AI: The geopolitical cost of dirty money

The geopolitical costs of dirty money are astronomical, with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime estimating that between 3% to 5% of global GDP is laundered per year. But even this striking figure fails to come close to covering the true human costs and devastation of the underlying criminality that fuels money laundering. 

From lower-level corruption to state capture, the human impacts of illicit finance range from an inability to access clean water and adequate health services to significant human rights abuses. This is why compliance officers must remain aware of evolving money laundering and proliferation financing trends. 

Anti-money laundering/counter financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) compliance officers often find themselves at the frontlines of a fight against criminality leading to considerable human suffering. To illustrate why compliance is so important, this article explores two regions where money laundering is having a significant impact on global security: Sudan and North Korea.

Suggested read: Ask Sumsubers: What new or unexpected methods of money laundering are you seeing emerge?

How secret gold networks are fueling conflict in Sudan

After the Sudanese civil war reignited in 2023, control over the country’s gold trade has played a key role in sustaining the parties involved in the violent conflict. Nearly 13 million (one in three people in Sudan) have since been displaced, with 50% of forcibly displaced people in the Horn of Africa and East Africa originating from Sudan. 

The war is being fought over power and resources between multiple parties, including the regular Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a powerful paramilitary with significant funds that evolved from a militia notorious for earlier atrocities in the region. 

The RSF, which has also been linked to conflicts in Yemen and Libya, is known to have used gold and a multinational business network to fund its campaigns connected to human rights abuses. 

Networks linked to the Sudanese civil war span countries all over the world, with the US having recently sanctioned a transnational network consisting of eight Colombian individuals and corporations for their role in recruiting and training soldiers to fight for the RSF. 

Avoiding gold linked to war in Sudan

As the conflict continues, there is a risk of more money linked to groups sustaining the conflict entering legitimate financial systems. Funds tied to the Sudanese civil war are generally laundered via the actual physical shipment of gold and cash using trade-based money laundering, as well as the use of front companies and related party payments. 

This is why firms need to closely monitor accounts held for Sudanese politically exposed persons, their business associates, and family members. Firms should also flag for review any transactions to and from entities incorporated in Sudan or with ties to senior Sudanese government officials. Particular attention should be paid to any transactions involving companies with roles in Sudan’s gold supply chain. 

Suggested read: Thai Police Arrest South Korean Man in $50M Crypto-to-Gold Laundering Scheme

North Korea’s rapidly evolving cybercrime landscape

Beyond physical resources, bad actors also use virtual assets to raise funds and evade sanctions. North Korea is a good example of this, and as it continues to commit crimes against humanity, it has become a major player in the cybercrime space by employing ransomware and other malicious cyberattacks to steal and launder virtual assets, acting as a considerable international destabilizing force. 

It is estimated that North Korea generated $3 billion between 2017 and 2023 in suspected cyberattacks used to fund its nuclear weapons program. North Korea’s hacker army, the Lazarus Group, and smaller cells like APT45 are also executing increasingly sophisticated attacks against essential infrastructure.

While North Korea is believed to be targeting defense companies and supply chains, it has also significantly focused on the crypto space. In 2025 alone, North Korean hackers have stolen over $2 billion in virtual assets, including a $1.46 billion theft from crypto exchange Bybit. 

To launder these funds, North Korea uses a series of tactics, including mixers and cross-chain transactions, exploits obscure blockchains, uses utility tokens for certain protocols, creates and trades tokens issued directly by laundering networks, and redirects assets to fresh wallets.

North Korea’s tactics are evolving with emerging technology. North Korea’s hackers are now, unsurprisingly, believed to be using artificial intelligence to scan code, find vulnerabilities, and replicate successful attacks that scale across multiple blockchains at speed.  

There has also been a surge in AI-assisted spear phishing attacks in conjunction with deepfakes and synthetic job applications to insert North Korean operatives into software developer roles. 

The increased personalization and ability to use local and culturally relevant language to generate social engineering attacks, thanks to AI, have made these assaults easier to scale and cause more human harm.  

Google recently identified that North Korea continues to misuse generative AI to “support operations across the stages of the attack lifecycle, aligned with their efforts to target cryptocurrency and provide financial support to the regime.” 

The UK has also issued an Advisory on North Korean Workers while the US has sanctioned individuals and entities for laundering proceeds of cyberattacks and IT worker funds.

Suggested read: How AI is Revolutionizing Anti-Money Laundering and Compliance (2026)

What firms can do to counter emerging North Korean threats

To adapt to this changing landscape, firms should ensure they include proliferation financing and sanctions in their enterprise-wide risk assessments to identify possible vulnerabilities. Firms should also make sure they have robust onboarding, including sanctions screening, in place to monitor customer accounts and transaction/value transfer activity.  

Lastly, firms should adopt a risk-based approach to consider whether they need to boost consumer awareness of how to stay safe from North Korean hacks, scams, and attacks, and how to report any vulnerabilities.

Cutting the human costs of dirty money

Dirty money is a catalyst for conflict, repression, and global instability. From gold shipments that prolong civil war in Sudan to AI-enabled cybercrime funding North Korea’s weapons programs, illicit finance directly undermines security, institutions, and human safety.

To reduce these risks, compliance officers need to treat AML/CFT, sanctions, and proliferation financing controls as key practices that keep the global community safe rather than ticking a box. This includes strengthening risk assessments, monitoring high-risk supply chains and virtual asset activity, and adapting controls to new technologies exploited by bad actors to build a solid defense against the real-world harms of dirty money.

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