U.S. has imposed sanctions on a bank operating in occupied Tskhinvali

The United States imposed sanctions on the MRB Bank operating in occupied Tskhinvali, which was involved in facilitating the circumvention of sanctions imposed against Russia and North Korea, the US Treasury Department said in a statement.

"The Department of Foreign Assets Control has identified a network of five entities and one individual based in Russia and the Russian-occupied Georgian region of South Ossetia that enabled and facilitated ongoing illegal payment mechanisms between Russia and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) efforts", - stated in the statement of the US Treasury Department.

According to the agency, the imposition of sanctions on this network imposes responsibility on parties that have facilitated the circumvention of sanctions imposed against North Korea and Russia, and confirms the commitment of the Treasury Department to identify and disrupt networks that facilitate the financing and support of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs. They support Russia's illegal war against Ukraine.

According to the US Treasury Department, in a scheme orchestrated by the Russian Central Bank, MRB Bank facilitated the establishment of a secret banking relationship between the sanctioned Russian TSMRBank and the North Korean FTB Bank.