WASHINGTON – The
U.S. Department of the Treasury today designated one Taiwan entity and one
Taiwan individual pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13382, an authority aimed
at freezing the assets of proliferators of weapons of mass destruction (WMD)
and their supporters. Trans Multi
Mechanics Co. Ltd. and Chang Wen-Fu were designated for their links to a North
Korean procurement agent, Alex H.T. Tsai.
Alex Tsai and his son, Yueh-Hsun Tsai, were recently arrested in Estonia
and the United States, respectively, and each was charged in the U.S. District
Court for the Northern District of Illinois, pursuant to criminal complaints
unsealed on May 1, 2013, with conspiring to defraud the United States in its
enforcement of laws and regulations prohibiting the proliferation of weapons of
mass destruction.
“It is essential that we continue to make it as difficult as
possible for North Korea to facilitate its nuclear and ballistic missile
programs by exposing key cogs in North Korea’s procurement network,” said Under
Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David S. Cohen. “We will continue to work with our partners in
Federal law enforcement and our friends around the world to expose anyone
assisting the North Korean government’s illicit procurement activities.”
Alex Tsai was designated by the Treasury Department on
January 16, 2009 for providing support to North Korea’s premier arms dealer, Korea
Mining Development Trading Corporation (KOMID), which was listed in the Annex
to E.O. 13382 and designated at the United Nations in April 2009. Tsai’s wife, Lu-chi Su, and two companies Tsai
controlled, Global Interface Company and Trans Merits Co. Ltd. were also
designated by Treasury in January 2009.
Chang Wen-Fu has been identified as the CEO and general
manager of Trans Multi Mechanics Co. Ltd. and has been actively involved in the
procurement of dual-use machinery for North Korea. Alex Tsai has used Trans Multi Mechanics Co.
Ltd. to procure and ship hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of equipment to
North Korea and to negotiate contracts on behalf of North Korean parties.
Trans Multi Mechanics Co. Ltd. was further alleged to have
been involved in some of the purchases which resulted in the charges against
Alex Tsai and his son. Based on the Tsai
family’s support for KOMID, these actions are consistent with U.S.
implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2094, which requires Member
States to sanction any individual or entity acting for or on behalf of a UN-designated
individual or entity.
U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any
transactions with the entities listed today, and any assets those entities may
have subject to U.S. jurisdiction are frozen.
Identifying
information:
Name: Trans Multi Mechanics Co. Ltd.
AKA: Feng Sheng Co.,
Ltd.
Location: 19, Chin Ho
Lane, Chung Cheng Rd., Taya District, Taichung City, Taiwan
Alt. Location: No 19,
Jinhe Lane, Zhongzheng Road, Daya District, Taichung City, Taiwan
Name: Chang Wen-Fu
AKA: Tony Chang
AKA: Zhang Wen-Fu
DOB: April 01, 1965
Nationality/Passport
Issuing Authority: Taiwan
Passport Number: 211606395 (Taiwan)
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