Washington ? A leader of an Irish Republican Army splinter group has been indicted in the United States on charges he conspired with North Korea to circulate millions of dollars in phony U.S. currency, prosecutors said.

The indictment of Sean Garland, 71, and six other men by a federal grand jury in Washington marks the first time in a 16-year investigation that the government has alleged in court documents that North Korea plays a major role in counterfeiting $100 bills, known as Supernotes.

Garland was arrested Friday at a hotel in Belfast.

The United States is seeking to extradite Garland. He pleaded innocent to the charges at a court appearance in Belfast and has been released on bail, according to Irish media reports.

The high-quality fake $100 bills were made in North Korea, at the government’s direction and carried around the world by government officials, the indictment said.

Investigators have long believed North Korea was the source of the counterfeit money, which first entered circulation in 1989.