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Justice Department Indicts 4 Chinese Nationals for N. Korea Sanctions
Violations

VOA News

   Four Chinese nationals and a Chinese company were indicted Tuesday for
   conspiring to evade sanctions on North Korea, according to the U.S.
   Justice Department.

   "Through the use of more than 20 front companies, the defendants are
   alleged to have sought to obscure illicit financial dealings on behalf
   of sanctioned North Korean entities that were involved in the
   proliferation of weapons of mass destruction," said Assistant Attorney
   General John Demers in a statement.

   The indictment charges Ma Xiaohong and her company, Dandong Hongxiang
   Industrial Development, as well as Zhou Jianshu, Hong Jinhua and Luo
   Chuanxu with conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic
   Powers Act (IEEPA) and to defraud the United States, along with
   conspiracy to launder monetary instruments.

   The indictment alleges that Ma, alongside Zhou, Hong and Luo
   "established front companies in offshore jurisdictions such as the
   British Virgin Islands, the Seychelles, Hong Kong, Wales, England, and
   Anguilla, and opened Chinese bank accounts held in the names of the
   front companies at banks in China that maintained correspondent
   accounts in the United States," in order to engage in financial
   activity with North Korea, according to the release.

   The defendants are each facing decades in prison if found guilty.