U.S. indicts North Koreans, accuses state-owned bank of evading sanctions

FILE PHOTO: The Department of Justice logo is seen on the podium during a news conference in New York January 23, 2013. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department accused North Korea's state-owned bank of evading U.S. sanctions laws and charged 28 North Korean and five Chinese citizens in its largest crackdown on North Korea sanctions violations.

In a grand jury indictment made public on Thursday, U.S. prosecutors accused North Korea's Foreign Trade Bank (FTB) of conspiring with the employees charged to cause other banks "to process at least $2.5 billion in illegal payments via over 250 front companies."