US Sanctions Russian Bank for Violating North Korea Sanctions

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin testifies before the House Financial Services Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill on July 12, 2018. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

On Aug. 3, the Treasury Department sanctioned a Russian bank, a North Korean individual living in Russia, and two front companies tied to a Pyongyang bank for violating the sanctions imposed on North Korea by the United States and the United Nations.

The Moscow-based Agrosoyuz Commercial Bank knowingly conducted a significant transaction on behalf of Han Jang Su, a representative of a North Korean bank living in the Russian capital, according to a statement from the Treasury Department.

Han Jang Su had already been sanctioned last year and should have been expelled from Russia, yet Argosoyuz still executed the transaction, the Treasury said.

“The United States will continue to enforce UN and U.S. sanctions and shut down illicit revenue streams to North Korea. Our sanctions will remain in place until we have achieved the final, fully-verified denuclearization of North Korea,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.

The U.S. also sanctioned Ri Jong Won, a Moscow-based deputy representative from the same North Korean bank. Russia should have expelled Ri Jong Won as well, the Treasury said, since he had official ties to Pyongyang’s bank.

The sanctions also extend to two entities with links to the North Korean bank: one based in China and the other in North Korea.

The sanctions mean that any interests or property of the individuals and entities who are in the United States are blocked. Americans are generally prohibited from dealing with the sanctioned people and entities.

The majority owner of Argosoyuz is Andrey Shlyakhovoy. The bank is headquartered in Moscow with 74 offices and branches in Russia.