The United States on Monday imposed sanctions on two individuals and a company based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), accusing them of participating in a ring that laundered millions of dollars earned by IT professionals and cybercriminals in support of North Korean authorities, Reuters reported.
The US Treasury Department said in a statement that the two sanctioned individuals worked through a UAE-based company to facilitate money laundering and cryptocurrency exchanges, providing illicit profits for Pyongyang.
North Korea's mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.
Today's measures come as Washington seeks to curb funding for North Korea's weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs, it said. US Treasury Department.
“As the DPRK continues to use sophisticated criminal schemes to finance its weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs, including the use of cryptocurrency, the US Treasury Department remains committed to disrupting the networks that facilitate these financial flows to the regime“, said Bradley Smith, acting assistant secretary of the Treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence, in a statement.
Today's sanctions target UAE-based Chinese nationals Lu Huayin and Zhang Jiang, as well as Emirates-based company “Green Alpine Trading LLC“. Washington is freezing their assets in the US and prohibiting US citizens from doing business with them. Those who engage in any dealings with them risk also becoming subject to sanctions.
The UAE Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. The agency did not immediately reach out to the company in question, or to the Chinese nationals Lu and Zhang, for comment.