U.S. Sanctions Japan’s Largest Organized-Crime Group

U.S. Sanctions Japan’s Largest Organized-Crime Group
By ANNIE LOWREY
Published: February 24, 2012

WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Japan’s biggest organized-crime syndicate, known as the yakuza, which operate with relative impunity there and whose far-ranging criminal activity has become a significant concern in Washington.

In an announcement Thursday, the department said it would freeze the American-based assets of the group, the Yamaguchi-gumi, and two of its leaders. It will also bar any transactions between Americans and members of the sanctioned crime syndicate. Yakuza groups have been tied to drug trafficking and other crimes in the United States, with particular prominence in Hawaii and California. Treasury did not elaborate on the dollar value of American-based accounts that might be frozen under the new sanctions.

In a statement, the Treasury said the group made “billions of dollars” every year around the world. Its criminal activity includes prostitution, money laundering, fraud, and trafficking in humans, weapons and drugs, the department said.

The action “casts a spotlight on key members of criminal organizations that have engaged in a wide range of serious crimes,” David S. Cohen, under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a statement.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/25/world/asia/united-states-sanctions-japans-largest-organized-crime-group-yakuza.html?_r=1&ref=world