A U.S. district court ruled on Monday that nearly $1 million in funds linked to a North Korean money laundering scheme must be forfeited to the U.S. government, court documents show, in a blow to Pyongyang’s network of overseas front companies.

The ruling by the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia comes after a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigation found that two Chinese companies — Rensy International Trading and Ryer International Trading — acted as fronts to launder millions from North Korean banks and help Pyongyang tap into the U.S. financial system.

In the ruling, U.S. District