The Justice Department on Thursday filed charges against more than two dozen Chinese and North Korean individuals in an alleged scheme to divert more than $2.5 billion in illegal funds for North Korea’s nuclear weapons program. The Justice Department (DOJ) charged 28 North Koreans and five Chinese nationals -- some of whom were executives of North Korea’s state-owned bank, Foreign Trade Bank, which was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department in 2013 and cut off from the U.S. financial system. One of the bank officials had previously served in North Korea’s primary intelligence bureau. Further, the Justice Department is accusing China of helping to facilitate the illegal banking transactions through government-controlled telecom companies. The U.S., according to the indictment, has seized nearly $63 million from the scheme since 2015.

Source: Fox News May 28, 2020 19:30 UTC