CNN —An Italian animation company has agreed to pay the US Treasury Department $538,000 for “apparent violations” of US sanctions against North Korea by doing business with a North Korean state-owned animation studio, the department said Wednesday. The outsourcing contract made explicit reference to North Korea, the department said. Mondo’s use of the US financial system to send money to North Korea triggered the Treasury investigation and the threat of fines. Along with Russia, North Korea is among the most heavily sanctioned governments in the world. But the North Korean animation industry has provided an important source of revenue for Pyongyang, according to experts.

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