Mun Chol Myong, Money Laundering, District of Columbia 2023

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Table of Contents

Defendant’s Scheme to Deceive U.S. Banks Lands Him Behind Bars

Mun Chol Myong, a 55-year-old national of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), has been sentenced to time served of 45 months in prison for multiple money laundering offenses in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

According to the indictment, between April 2013 and November 2018, Mun and others conspired to transmit funds through the United States for the purpose of promoting bank fraud. The indictment alleged that Mun and his co-conspirators used a network of front companies and falsified transaction records to conceal that the payments benefitted sanctioned North Korean entities and thereby deceived U.S. correspondent banks into executing correspondent banking transactions that they would otherwise have rejected.

The indictment identifies more than $1.2 million in illicit transactions, and further alleged that Mun was affiliated with the DPRK’s primary intelligence organization, the Reconnaissance General Bureau (RGB), which is the subject of U.S. and U.N. sanctions. Mun pleaded guilty to all counts of the indictment, including one count of money laundering conspiracy, and four counts of money laundering, pursuant to an ‘Alford’ plea.

U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves stated, ‘This case is significant because the defendant was not merely securing alcohol, tobacco, and other commodities for North Korea, but also providing income streams needed to prop up the regime and finance its nefarious activities.’ Special Agent in Charge Alvin M. Winston, Sr., added, ‘The FBI prioritizes investigations involving the illegal export of controlled U.S. technology and the use of the U.S. financial system to purchase prohibited luxury goods like liquor and tobacco.’

This investigation was conducted by the FBI’s Minneapolis Field Office and coordinated by the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division. The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) Investigative Operations Division (IOD) provided analytical support during the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tejpal S. Chawla and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael P. Grady for the District of Columbia, and Trial Attorney David C. Recker of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section prosecuted the case, with support from Paralegal Specialist Brian Rickers and Legal Assistant Jessica McCormick.