UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, : : Plaintiff, : Civil Action No.: 20-2546 (RC) : v. : Re Document No.: 10 : $429,900.00 OF BLOCKED FUNDS : ASSOCIATED WITH RYER : INTERNATIONAL TRADING, LTD., et al., : : Defendants. : MEMORANDUM OPINION GRANTING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR ENTRY OF DEFAULT JUDGMENT I. INTRODUCTION This action arises out of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Plaintiff United States of America (“the Government”) seeks the forfeiture of $429,900 associated with Ryer International Trading, Ltd. (“Ryer”) (“Defendant Funds 1”), $501,771 associated with a U.S. Customs and Immigration Service EB-5 Immigrant Investment Program account held in the name of Tang Xin (“Tang”) (“Defendant Funds 2”), and $24,209.85 associated with Tang and Li Xichun (“Li”) (“Defendant Funds 3”) (collectively, “Defendant Funds”). The Government argues that the Defendant Funds are subject to forfeiture because they (1) constitute (or are derived from) proceeds traceable to violation of, or conspiracy to violate, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (“IEEPA”), and (2) are property involved in (or traceable to) money laundering offenses. No claimant responded to the Government’s complaint, and the Clerk of Court entered default on May 3, 2021. The Government now asks this Court to enter default judgment against the Defendant Funds. For the reasons set forth below, the Court concludes that the government’s factual allegations are sufficient to show that the Defendant Funds constitute or were derived from proceeds of IEEPA violations. Thus, the Court grants the Government’s motion for default judgment. II. FACTUAL BACKGROUND This case involves two companies that the Government alleges acted as intermediaries in transmitting money from sanctioned North Korean banks to and through the United States financial system in violation of U.S. sanctions. The Government alleges that this scheme ran afoul of the IEEPA, 50 U.S.C. § 1701, and the federal money laundering statute and its accompanying conspiracy offense, 18 U.S.C. § 1956(a)(2)(A) and § 1956(h). The Government claims that, as such, the Defendant Funds are subject to forfeiture under 18 U.S.C. § 981(a)(1)(C) as property which constitutes or is derived from proceeds traceable to a violation of the IEEPA (or conspiracy to violate IEEPA) and 18 U.S.C. § 981(a)(1)(A) as property involved in a violation of the federal money laundering statute (or property traceable to such property). See Compl. ¶¶ 61–62, 64–65. According to the Government, North Korean financial facilitators, funded by sanctioned North Korean banks—including the Foreign Trade Bank of the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea (“FTB”)—wired money to two affiliated front companies, Ryer and Rensy International Trading Co., Ltd. (“Rensy”), which worked in tandem to transmit the funds to and through the United States financial system. The Government also alleges that the relevant front companies assisted ZTE Corporation (“ZTE”), a China-based telecommunications company, in exporting controlled goods containing U.S.-origin components to North Korea, also in violation of U.S. sanctions. Compl. ¶¶ 12–19. Because no claimant to the funds has come forward, the Government asks this court to enter …
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