A fugitive Chinese businessman has been charged with illegally using New York City banks to help Iran buy materials to make nuclear weapons.

The 118-count indictment charges Li Feng Wei and his company LIMMT with falsifying business records and conspiracy.

The indictment says Li used shell companies and bank accounts with aliases to transfer money for the transactions between November 2006 and September 2008.

Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau said Tuesday the payments were sent to and from a limited number of Chinese banks that handled accounts for Li and his companies. He said he had jurisdiction because Manhattan banks were used.

Morgenthau said Li is in China and he will ask the government there to extradite him to the United States. LIMMT is based in Dalian, China.

(Source: WCBSTV)