U.S. indicts North Koreans, accuses state-owned bank of evading sanctions

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Justice Department accused North Korea’s state owned bank of evading U.S. sanctions laws and charged 28 North Korean and 5 Chinese citizens with committing money laundering, bank fraud and other crimes.

In a grand jury indictment made public Thursday, U.S. prosecutors accused North Korea’s Foreign Trade Bank of conspiring with the employees charged to cause other banks “to process at least $2.5 billion in illegal payments via over 250 front companies.” The Washington Post said it is the largest ever North Korean sanctions violation case.

Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama