Kenneth Zong charged with conspiracy to evade US sanctions on Iran

Kenneth Zong (a US citizen) has been charged in the USA with money laundering and conspiring to violate US sanctions on Iran.  Mr Zong, along with 4 unindicted co-conspirators, is said to have used false and fraudulent transactions to remove around $1billion of Iranian owned funds held in Korean bank accounts and convert them into more easily traded currencies.  He is said to have transferred those currencies to other countries and received between $10-17million from Iranian nationals as payment for his services.  They are accused of creating false contracts, bills of lading, and invoices suggesting that Mr Zong’s Korean company “Anchore” was owed money by an Iranian shell company, resulting in the transfer of funds from a sanctioned Iranian bank account to Zong’s Anchore account. The Department of Justice’s press release is here.