In a recent decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C.
Circuit unanimously affirmed a district court order compelling
three Chinese banks (not currently identified) to produce financial
records in response to subpoenas issued by U.S. federal
prosecutors, including records that were unrelated to the
banks' U.S. operations or U.S. correspondent accounts.
According to the U.S. government, a front company controlled by
the North Korean government had used the Chinese banks to
facilitate transactions involving hundreds of millions of U.S.
dollars through the Chinese banks' correspondent accounts at
U.S. financial institutions. The government alleged that by doing
so, North Korea circumvented U.S. economic sanctions intended to
prevent North Korea from financing its nuclear weapons program.
