They did of course not wire the money directly to North Korea. It was a multi-step process of money laundering, involving currency exchanges, cash and casinos,

They did of course not wire the money directly to North Korea. It was a multi-step process of money laundering, involving currency exchanges, cash and casinos, in several jurisdictions. Every authority along the way must be on board with the reversal. When the chain is broken, as when cash is laundered at a casino, somebody will be left holding the bag. You can't reverse the cash back out of thin air. Had all the money been found still sitting pretty in an account, I assume things would have eventually been all settled.