Federal officials have indicted a Chinese businesswoman and Communist Party member on charges that she aided blacklisted North Korean companies in evading U.S. sanctions to help develop Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program, according to the Justice Department.
The Wall Street Journal reported Monday:
The indictment, unsealed on Monday, alleges that Ma Xiaohong and her company, Dandong Hongxiang Industrial Development Co., served as financial fronts for North Korean companies sanctioned by the U.S. for their alleged role in developing Pyongyang’s nuclear and ballistic-missile capabilities.
The Justice Department said Ms. Ma and her company and associates masked hundreds of millions of dollars of transactions on behalf of North Korean firms, which used the U.S. banking system.
"It appears that the majority of [Hongxiang Industrial’s] businesses and assets are derived from evading sanctions and the overall money laundering scheme," the Justice Department said.
The U.S. Treasury Department implimented sanctions against Ma, Hongxiang Industrial, and two of her business associates on Monday.
"The charges and forfeiture action announced today allege the defendants in China established and used shell companies around the world, surreptitiously moved money through the United States, and violated the sanctions imposed on North Korea in response to, among other things, its nuclear-weapons program," Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell said in a statement.
The Justice Department is also pursuing a civil complaint against Ma to freeze funds linked to the businesswoman and Hongxiang Industrial that are currently held in 25 Chinese bank accounts. U.S. officials said Ma illegally transited those funds through the U.S. financial system on behalf of Korea Kwangson Banking Corp., which was sanctioned in 2009 on charges that it helped finance Pyongyang’s weapons programs.
Federal authorities have monitored Ma and her company over the past year given concerns they were helping North Korea circumvent sanctions.
Chinese police announced earlier this month they had launched an investigation into Hongxiang Industrial over "serious economic crimes" committed during trading activities, according to the Wall Street Journal.