The U.S. Justice Department reportedly indicted about 30 North Koreans and Chinese nationals for using shell companies to launder about two-point-five billion dollars through the global financial system.

According to Bloomberg News on Thursday, the department disclosed a 50-page indictment alleging that the participants used North Korea's state-owned Foreign Trade Bank to process about two-point-five billion dollars in illegal payments. 

The New York Times said the department charged 28 North Koreans and five Chinese citizens with using a web of more than 250 shell companies for money laundering.

The report said the money went to the North Korean bank and was used to support the North's weapons of mass destruction program. 

The Washington Post called it the largest North Korean sanctions violation case charged by the U.S.

The indictment comes as nuclear talks between the U.S. and North Korea remain in limbo and tensions are escalating between the U.S. and China.