DHAKA: The US has put sanctions on a Chinese firm and four executives over allegedly helping North Korea evade sanctions.

Dandong Hongxiang is accused of acting on behalf of a North Korean bank that is on a UN sanctions list to stop the spread of weapons of mass destruction.

The sanctions come after North Korea sparked a global outcry this month by conducting its fifth nuclear test.

The engineering company and its bosses are also under investigation by Chinese authorities, reports the BBC.

The US decision to extend sanctions on the industrial machinery and equipment wholesaler means that American companies or individuals are banned from doing business with the Chinese company or the four executives.

Aside from the firm’s founder, Ma Xiaohong, the sanctions include Zhou Jianshu, Hong Jinhua and Luo Chuanxu, who are accused of conspiring to violate sanctions rules and engaging in international money laundering.

According to Adam Szubin, the Treasury Department’s acting under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, Dandong Hongxiang was instrumental in a “key illicit network supporting North Korea’s weapons proliferation”, acting on behalf of North Korea’s Kwangson Banking Corp.

The Chinese company and its employees “sought to evade US and UN sanctions, facilitating access to the US financial system by a designated entity”, he said in a statement.

The US Justice Department said bank accounts associated with the firm and front companies received hundreds of millions of dollars that transited through the US.

BDST: 1221 HRS, SEP 27, 2016
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