丹東銀行被禁止與美國金融系統往來

The US Treasury department has severed a small Chinese bank’s ties with the US financial system over its alleged support for North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme.

美國財政部切斷了中國一家小型銀行與美國金融系統的聯繫，理由是該銀行據稱支持朝鮮的核武計劃。

The measures against Bank of Dandong come days before Donald Trump’s first official visit to China and indicate that questions over China’s relationship with North Korea will continue to dog the relationship between the US president and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.

此次對丹東銀行(Bank of Dandong)的制裁措施頒佈於唐納德?特朗普(Donald Trump)首次正式訪華數日前，顯示出中朝關係相關問題仍將阻礙美中兩國首腦的關係。

The Treasury’s financial crimes unit said in a statement late on Thursday that the bank in Dandong, on China’s border with North Korea, had acted “as a conduit for illicit North Korean financial activity”.

美國財政部金融犯罪部門週四晚間發表聲明稱，位於中朝邊境的丹東銀行曾是“朝鮮非法金融活動的一條渠道”。

It accused the bank of performing millions of dollars of transactions for companies connected to North Korea’s ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programmes, as well as other companies that have been sanctioned by the UN.

該部門指責丹東銀行爲與朝鮮彈道導彈和核武器計劃有關的公司，以及其他已受聯合國制裁的公司進行了數百萬美元的交易。

While the White House proposed the measures in June, the implementation comes as Mr Trump prepares for his first visit to China as head of state.

美國白宮是在在6月份提出該制裁措施的，不過其執行卻是在特朗普上任後首次訪華之前。

The new sanctions will bar any bank doing business in the US from conducting transactions with Bank of Dandong.

這一新的制裁將禁止任何在美國開展業務的銀行與丹東銀行進行交易。

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“Today’s actions will better protect the US financial system from illicit schemes used by North Korea to evade sanctions and finance its weapons programmes,” Steven Mnuchin, Treasury secretary, said in a statement. “Banks and businesses worldwide should take note that they must be vigilant against attempts by North Korea to conduct illicit financing and trade.”

美國財政部部長史蒂文?姆努欽(Steven Mnuchin)在一份聲明中表示：“此次行動將更好地保護美國金融體系免遭朝鮮非法計劃利用，以逃避制裁和資助其武器計劃。世界各地的銀行和企業都應該注意，它們必須警惕朝鮮企圖進行非法融資和貿易的行爲。”

Documents provided by the Treasury claim that Bank of Dandong facilitated $786m in transactions through correspondent banks in the US between May 2012 and May 2015. About 17 per cent of those transactions, it says, were with companies linked to North Korean entities under sanctions from the US and UN.

據美國財政部提供的文件稱，丹東銀行在2012年5月至2015年5月期間通過美國的代理銀行促成了7.86億美元的交易。其中約17%的交易是與受美國和聯合國制裁的朝鮮實體有聯繫的企業進行的。