A U.S. court has ordered the confiscation of two-point-37 million dollars from four companies for violating sanctions on North Korea.

According to the federal district court for Washington D.C., judge Rudolph Contreras issued the order on Thursday against four firms whose names have been withheld.

The court believes they used the U.S. financial system to assist North Korean money laundering, in violation of sanctions.

The verdict backs the police argument that the entities violated the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the Money Laundering Control Act.

According to the court order, two of the four firms took orders from the North Korean intelligence agency, the Reconnaissance General Bureau. Others held transactions with the North's state-owned Foreign Trade Bank, which is subject to both U.S. and UN Security Council sanctions.