U.S. prosecutors say they have charged five Burmese nationals in connection with an illegal money-transferring business between the United States and Asian countries.
The U.S. Attorney's office for Northern California issued a statement Thursday saying four of the five people had been arrested and a fifth was outside the country.
The statement says the five have been charged with running the money-transfer business without a license from September 2001 to January of this year.
The attorney's office says the group received and transferred more than six million dollars to what it calls "people and entities" in Asian countries, including China, Hong Kong and Thailand.
The prosecutors say the group also is charged with tax evasion.