The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has announced sanctions against two individuals and a single entity regarding money laundering to the benefit of North Korea. OFAC says that Lu Huaying and Zhang Jian, working out of the UAE and utilizing a front company, laundered millions in funds from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The funds were eventually sent back to North Korea.
Green Alpine Trading, LLC is said to be the UAE-based front company that enabled the money-laundering network.
The network targeted by OFAC is said to be led by already sanctioned North Korean Sim Hyon Sop, a PRC-based banking representative of Korea Kwangson Banking Corp (KKBC).
The actions by the Feds are part of an ongoing effort to disrupt North Korean money laundering, which is apparently financing missile programs and other “weapons of mass destruction.”
Acting Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Bradley T. Smith said the US, along with the UAE and other partners, will continue to target the financial networks that support the Kim regime and its illicit activity.
OFAC claims that North Korea is using agents and proxies to tap into the global financial ecosystem, leveraging fraud, including digital asset theft.
The statement by the Treasury says that in late 2022 and early 2023, UAE-based PRC national Zhang Jian (Zhang) also helped facilitate the exchange of fiat currency for Sim.
Sanctions mean that all property and interests that are in the US or under the control of a US person are now blocked.
Enforcement actions may be taken against financial institutions or other persons engaging in activities with sanctioned individuals or entities.