The US Department of Justice has praised the 'significant assistance' provided by the Office of the Prosecutor General of Georgia in seeking forfeiture of more than $20 million in assets relating to unlawful use of the US financial system to evade and violate the Iranian sanctions, says the US Department of Justice.
The US Department of Justice reported that the civil forfeiture complaint alleges that Kenneth Zong, a U.S. citizen, conspired with three Iranian nationals to evade the prohibitions of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations (ITSR) by engaging in false, fictitious and fraudulent transactions which were designed to unlawfully convert and transfer Iranian owned funds to a Korean financial institution, equivalent to approximately $1 billion.
These funds were held in Korean bank accounts and converted into more easily tradable currencies, such as USD, through US financial institutions and laundered into and through a host of shell company accounts in multiple jurisdictions, including the United States, the United Arab Emirates and Korea", says the department.
Approximately $20 million in funds traceable to this scheme were used by Zong’s co-conspirators to attempt to purchase a hotel in Georgian capital city of Tbilisi in 2011 and 2012. The proceeds of these funds and this attempted transaction are the subject of the forfeiture complaint.
A complaint is merely an allegation. A defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law", says the department.
The FBI and IRS-CI are investigating the case.
The department also appreciates the assistance provided by UAE authorities and the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office and Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Korea.