$7 Million in Iranian Assets Collected for Victims of State-Sponsored Terrorism
A Department of Justice press release dated January 5, 2021 announced that the United States has collected $7 million in Iranian assets to be distributed to American victims of international state-sponsored terrorism. The funds were collected as a part of civil forfeiture investigation that led to millions of dollars being claimed from several Iranian nationals and others who attempted to circumvent U.S. economic sanctions on Iran.
Acting Assistant Attorney General David Burns of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division said of the crime, “The funds subject to today’s stipulation had been destined to benefit criminal actors who engaged in an elaborate scheme to violate U.S. sanctions against Iran, one of the world’s leading state sponsors of terrorism… the forfeited funds will instead be used to directly compensate victims of state sponsors of terrorism.”
The conspiracy lasted from 2011 to 2014. Three Iranian nationals and, allegedly, one U.S. citizen, Kenneth Zong, were defrauding South Korean banks to make it seem like Korean companies were doing business with Iranian companies. They then transferred over $1 billion worth of Iranian funds out of South Korea to be spent in the international market. Kenneth Zong is recently finished serving a sentence for his crimes in a South Korean prison and remains in South Korea.
Mitchell Zong, the son of Kenneth Zong, was also indicted for laundering approximately $968,000 of Iranian-derived funds knowing that the funds were obtained illegally. Mitchel Zong and his family were also forced to forfeit approximately $10 million in assets to the United States.
The $7 million announced in the press release, which are other funds traceable to the scheme, will be allocated to the U.S. Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund, which Congress established to provide compensation to certain individuals who were injured in acts of international state-sponsored terrorism.
U.S. Attorney Bryan D. Schroder for the District of Alaska said of the investigation, “I thank our law enforcement partners for their long-term and dedicated diligence in securing these funds for victims of state-sponsored terrorism. The United States also acknowledges and expressed appreciation for the cooperation of UAE authorities, the Dubai Police Department’s Anti-money Laundering and Financial Crimes Division and the Government of Ras al Khaimah, the Office of the Prosecutor General of Georgia, and the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office and Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Korea, without whom this resolution would not have been possible.”