US Treasury Discusses Money Laundering Concerns With North Korean Officials

by Glen Shapiro, LawAndTax-News.com, New York

16 March 2006

The US Department of the Treasury on Tuesday briefed representatives of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) on the action taken against Banco Delta Asia (BDA) and measures to protect the US financial system from illicit activities.

Representatives from the State Department and the National Security Council also attended.

According to a Treasury statement on the meeting:

"The briefing of North Korean officials focused on the Treasury's authorities to combat illicit finance and the tools we utilize to protect the US financial system, and afforded a useful opportunity to clarify numerous issues."

"It specifically covered Treasury's designation of BDA in Macau as a "primary money laundering concern" under Section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act."

Daniel Glaser, the Treasury Deputy Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes explained that:

"BDA was designated because its facilitation of North Korean illicit financial activity presents an unacceptable risk to the US financial system."

Section 311 is a powerful tool that the US uses to protect itself from corrupt finance threats worldwide. The Treasury clarified that the Section 311 action against BDA was a regulatory measure to protect the US financial system from abuse, and not a sanction on North Korea.

The Department further clarified that the designation of BDA was separate and unrelated to ongoing diplomatic negotiations of the Six Party Talks.

As described in the Treasury's formal notice in September, the designation of BDA was based primarily, but not exclusively, on BDA's extensive relationships with North Korean entities involved in illicit activities.

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