U.S. banks are warned on North Korea
By JEANNINE AVERSA
AP ECONOMICS WRITER
WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration has issued a warning to U.S.
banks that North Korea may try to use them to carry out illicit
activities.
The advisory from the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes
Enforcement Network represents the latest effort by the United States
to financially clamp down on North Korea.
"U.S. financial institutions should take reasonable steps to guard
against the abuse of their financial services by North Korea, which may
be seeking to establish new or exploit existing account relationships
for the purpose of conducting illicit activities," according to the
advisory, which was dated Tuesday.
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, known as FinCen, is
responsible for making sure the U.S. financial system is not vulnerable
to terrorist financiers, drug lords, money launderers and others
engaged in financial crimes.
The Treasury Department has alleged that North Korea - acting through
government agencies and associated front companies - is engaged in
illicit activities.
"North Korean entities are known to have engaged in currency
counterfeiting, narcotics trafficking, the production and dissemination
of counterfeit cigarettes and the laundering of related proceeds, as
well as weapons of mass destruction and missile proliferation," the
advisory stated.
In September, the department took action against a bank - Banco Delta
Asia SARL - in the Chinese enclave of Macau for what it said were lax
money-laundering controls, alleging the bank helped North Korea
distribute counterfeit currency and engage in other illicit activities.
At that time, the department designated Banco Delta Asia as a "primary
money laundering concern," which alerts the global financial community
about the alleged problems. The department also proposed that the bank
be cut off from the U.S. financial system.
Against that backdrop, FinCen's advisory warns that North Korea "may be
seeking banking services elsewhere" following the Treasury Department's
designation of Banco Delta Asia as a primary money-laundering concern.
Banco Delta Asia has provided financial services for more than 20 years
to North Korean government agencies and front companies alleged to have
engaged in illicit activities, the FinCen advisory said.
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