North Korean bank officials charged by US in sanctions case: AP

The U.S. Justice Department unveiled charges against executives of North Korea’s state-run bank, Foreign Trade Bank, on Thursday for allegedly making at least $2.5 billion in illicit payments linked to the country’s nuclear weapons and missile program, according to The Associated Press.

In 2013 the Foreign Trade Bank was added to a Treasury Department list of sanctioned institutions and was cut off from the U.S. banking system.

The case against the bank was reportedly filed in federal court in Washington. The indictment lists 33 defendants, one of whom served in North Korea’s primary intelligence bureau and five of which are Chinese citizens who operated covert branches in either China or Libya, according to the AP. 

The wire service reported it was unclear if the defendants have obtained an attorney as of press time. 

The bank allegedly used more than 250 front companies to process U.S. dollar payments to further the country’s nuclear proliferation program. The indictment claims the U.S. seized about $63 million from the scheme since 2015. 

“Through this indictment, the United States has signified its commitment to hampering North Korea’s ability to illegally access the U.S. financial system and limit its ability to use proceeds from illicit actions to enhance its illegal WMD and ballistic missile programs,” acting U.S. Attorney Michael Sherwin said in a statement to the AP.