The US authorities accused the Chinese company of acting in the interests of the DPRK's Foreign Trade Bank, which is under international sanctions. A company from the PRC can be fined $1.9 million, according to a statement by the US federal prosecutor for the District Of Columbia.
"Mingzheng International Trading Limited, based in Shenyang, carried out prohibited operations in the United States in the interests of the DPRK Foreign Trade Bank and laundered its proceeds in US financial institutions," the prosecutor's office said.
Fund was transacted By Mingzheng
According to the statement by the U.S. Attorney's Office in the District of Columbia, $1.9 million seizure action is one of the largest forfeiture actions of the North Korean funds by the justice department. The amount was transacted by Mingzheng International Trading Limited based in the Shenyang, through wire transfers, using their country's bank accounts, said by the statement
The Chinese side already issued a statement in which it refutes the data of the American side and in any case, considers any sanctions against "Mingzheng International Trading Limited" unjustified.
It is emphasized that the FBI conducted a thorough investigation, which revealed that the company from the PRC is a dummy and works for the North Korean authorities.
It follows from the prosecutor's statement that the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on the DPRK's foreign trade bank in March 2013 for its role in creating weapons of mass destruction.
Chinese president visited the US
During the President of China's visit to the US at the beginning of this year, an agreement was reached with President Trump on expanding trade and economic ties between the two countries.
Among other things, Chinese banks were able to conduct broad financial transactions in the United States. As far as, these agreements are not generally questioned, but the Chinese side is interested in preventing its companies from hindering the United States.
The US prosecutors told the court that Dandong Hongxiang, another Chinese company, had close links with the financial transactions of the Mingzheng.
In 2016, the Justice Department filed a criminal charge against the Chinese executive of Dandong Hongxiang, Mia Xiaohong, accusing her and many of her colleagues of violating the sanctions of the US through a similar money-transfer scheme.
