US imposes sanctions on nonprofit Russian Financial Society

WASHINGTON, Jun 20 (PRIME) -- The U.S. Department of the Treasury has blacklisted nonprofit organization Russian Financial Society due to alleged ties with North Korea, the department said in a statement late on Wednesday.

“The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) today announced the designation of a Russian entity that has assisted North Korea in evading sanctions to access the international financial system,” the statement said.

According to the authority’s data, Russian Financial Society is suspected of “having provided, or attempted to provide, financial, material, technological, or other support for, or goods or services in support of, U.S.-designated Dandong Zhongsheng Industry & Trade Co. Ltd,” with the latter company owned and controlled by North Korea’s foreign exchange bank Foreign Trade Bank.

The Russian company opened bank accounts for Dandong Zhongsheng and a North Korean chief representative of Korea Zinc Industrial Group, another company under the U.S. sanction list. This allowed North Korea to bypass U.S. and U.N. sanctions and gain access to the global financial system, the department said.

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