Qin Guoming, 60, of Liaoning, China, Jin Guanghua, 53, of China, Sim Hyon-Sop, 50, of North Korea and Han Linlin, 41, of Lianong were extradited by Australia to the United States on September 27, 2024. Born in Pyongyang, North Korea, Sim is a banker also known as Sim Ali and Sim Hajim.
What crimes did Jin Guanghua, Sim Hyon-Sop, Qin Guoming and Han Linlin commit?
Between 2009 and 2019, Jin, Sim, Qin and Han engaged in a scheme to purchase leaf tobacco for entities owned by North Koreans. Using front companies and false documentation, they caused U.S. financial institutions to process at least 310 transactions worth approximately $74 million.
The transactions resulted in a approximately $700 million in revenue for the North Korean entities and ultimately for the North Korean government. Had the U.S. financial institutions that the transactions involved trade with North Korea, they would have declined, investigated, frozen or blocked them.
Jin, Sim, Qin and Han were charged by indictment with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and the North Korean sanctions regulations and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments and laundering monetary instruments. The IEEPA was enacted on October 28, 1977 and was signed by 39th U.S. president Jimmy Carter, now 100, on December 28, 1977.
On March 21, 2023, a warrant for Sim’s arrest was issued in Washington, D.C., USA. He was charged with money laundering, bank fraud and IEEPA criminal avoidance of sanctions.
On March 23, 2023, the Australian federal police arrested Jin in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. At the time, he was residing in Australia and was trying to leave the country for China.
After Jin’s arrest, the U.S. requested for his provisional arrest with a view toward extradition. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for money laundering, 20 years in prison for violating the IEEPA and 30 years in prison for bank fraud.
CONAN Daily 