U. S. Accuses Chinese Company of Money Laundering for North Korea -
By JONATHAN SOBLEJUNE 16, 2017
TOKYO — United States prosecutors accused a Chinese company on Thursday of laundering money for North Korea
and said they would seek $1.9 million in civil penalties, as American efforts to put pressure on the isolated country continue to affect Pyongyang’s neighbor and biggest benefactor.
In their statement, prosecutors said Mingzheng was created to “surreptitiously move North Korean money through the United
States.” In a filing with the court, prosecutors said the funds were being held in a bank account in the United States.
Prosecutors said the company, Mingzheng International Trading Limited, operated as a front company for North Korea’s state-run Foreign Trade Bank,
which since 2013 has been the target of American sanctions intended to choke off funds connected to the country’s nuclear weapons program.
Last year, the United States Treasury said it would cut off from the American financial
system any bank or company conducting banking transactions with North Korea.
The penalty, if approved by the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, would be “one of
the largest seizures of North Korean funds by the department,” according to a statement from prosecutors.