U.S. may accuse North Korea in theft last year at N.Y. Fed - WSJ

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors are building potential cases that would accuse North Korea of directing the theft of $81 million from Bangladesh's account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York last year, the Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter.

The charges, if filed, would target alleged Chinese middlemen who prosecutors believed help North Korea orchestrate the theft, the Journal said.

The current cases being pursued may not include charges against North Korean officials, but would likely implicate North Korea, the Journal reported, with the United States accusing a foreign government of orchestrating one of the biggest bank robberies of modern times.

(Writing by Eric Beech; Editing by Eric Walsh)