US indicts 33 North Koreans and Chinese for sanctions violations

The United States Department of Justice has accused 28 North Koreans and five Chinese nationals of participating in an alleged money laundering scheme that channeled at least $2.5 billion through the US financial system in violation of US sanctions against Pyongyang.

The indictment, filed with the US Attorney’s Office in Washington DC, is reportedly the largest criminal action case brought against North Korea in the United States.

The defendants include former presidents, vice presidents and employees of North Korea’s state-owned Foreign Trade Bank (‘FTB’), which was designated by the Treasury Department in 2013 for lending support to Pyongyang’s nuclear proliferation network, cutting it off from the US financial system.

‘The charges alleged in this Indictment arise from a multi-year scheme to covertly access the U.S. financial system in spite of sanctions,’ the indictment said.

The defendants, some of them already designated, are accused of establishing and operating a covert network of FTB branches around the world, including in Austria, Kuwait, China, Libya, and Russia. They allegedly used 250 front companies to procure commodities and facilitate payments in US dollars, which North Korea is not allowed to do under the sanctions.

Five of the defendants are Chinese citizens who are alleged to have operated covert branches in either China or Libya. One of the indicted North Korean bank officials had served in North Korea’s intelligence bureau.  

‘Through this indictment, the United States has signified its commitment to hampering North Korea’s ability to illegally access the U.S. financial system and its ability to use proceeds from illicit actions to enhance its illegal WMD and ballistic missile programs,’ said Michael Sherwin, acting US Attorney for the District of Columbia.

http://cdn.cnn.com/cnn/2020/images/05/28/north.korea.indictment.pdf