By Heda Bayron
Hong Kong
20 September 2005
In a statement published Tuesday in major newspapers in Hong Kong and Macau, Banco Delta Asia said it had been engaged in business with North Korean banks and trading companies since the 1970's. But it called the U.S. Treasury Department's accusation that the bank is a money laundering conduit for North Korea "unfounded".
On Thursday, the Treasury Department designated Banco Delta Asia as a "primary money laundering concern" under the USA Patriot Act, which was passed in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.
The department said Banco Delta has been a "willing pawn" for North Korean agencies and companies to engage in "corrupt financial activities through Macau." It said the bank has met North Korea's needs and demands "with little oversight or control."
Stanley Au, the bank's chairman, told Hong Kong television the allegations are not true.
The bank says it will appeal the designation, and has announced that it has suspended all transactions with North Korean clients.
On Friday and Saturday, thousands of panicked depositors in Macau lined up to withdraw money from the bank.
In a bid to maintain public confidence, the Macau government appointed two independent bankers to help run Banco Delta Asia while it is under investigation. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority Friday also appointed a representative to manage a bank subsidiary in Hong Kong.
Joseph Yam, the head of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, said Tuesday the investigation into the bank should proceed carefully in order to protect depositors.
The Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network has proposed a new rule that would prohibit U.S. financial institutions from dealing with Banco Delta Asia.
The department characterized Macau as a region in need of "significant improvement" in money laundering controls. The former Portuguese enclave reverted to Chinese sovereignty in 1999, and is best known for its booming gambling industry.
Source: VOA
Showing posts with label Macau. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Macau. Show all posts
on Sunday, April 22, 2012
A former top minister in the Chinese gambling resort of Macau already jailed for taking tens of millions of US dollars in bribes was Wednesday sentenced to a further 28-and-a-half years. Ao Man Long, 52, former secretary for transport and public works, is already serving a 27-year jail term after being convicted last year of taking huge bribes in return for awarding public work contracts.
At the end of a second trial Wednesday, he was convicted of 23 additional counts or bribe-taking and five of money laundering in the biggest corruption case in modern Macau history.
Sentencing him in Macau's Court of Final Appeal, judge Shum Ho-fai said Ao had abused his power as a government official and that his behaviour had seriously damaged the image of the territory.
The two sentences will be served concurrently because of limitations in the Macau Penal Code which mean Ao cannot serve more than 30 years in prison.
Ao was arrested in 2006 and sentenced to 27 years in January 2008 after being found guilty of taking huge bribes as he awarded public works contracts for a series of massive casino projects.
He built up a personal fortune of 100 million US dollars as the former Portuguese colony, which reverted to Chinese rule in 1999, welcomed a series of Las Vegas-owned casinos.
Ao was found guilty of 57 out of 76 charges including corruption, money-laundering, abuse of power and making false statements at the end of his original trial.
A graduate of Taiwan University, Ao joined the Macau government in 1987 and was appointed its first secretary for transport and public works after the territory reverted to Chinese rule.
Source: DPA- EARTH TIMES
At the end of a second trial Wednesday, he was convicted of 23 additional counts or bribe-taking and five of money laundering in the biggest corruption case in modern Macau history.
Sentencing him in Macau's Court of Final Appeal, judge Shum Ho-fai said Ao had abused his power as a government official and that his behaviour had seriously damaged the image of the territory.
The two sentences will be served concurrently because of limitations in the Macau Penal Code which mean Ao cannot serve more than 30 years in prison.
Ao was arrested in 2006 and sentenced to 27 years in January 2008 after being found guilty of taking huge bribes as he awarded public works contracts for a series of massive casino projects.
He built up a personal fortune of 100 million US dollars as the former Portuguese colony, which reverted to Chinese rule in 1999, welcomed a series of Las Vegas-owned casinos.
Ao was found guilty of 57 out of 76 charges including corruption, money-laundering, abuse of power and making false statements at the end of his original trial.
A graduate of Taiwan University, Ao joined the Macau government in 1987 and was appointed its first secretary for transport and public works after the territory reverted to Chinese rule.
Source: DPA- EARTH TIMES
on Friday, March 9, 2012
A top U.S. Treasury official met with Hong Kong regulators and bankers Thursday as part of an effort to keep North Korea from using the international financial system to fund its nuclear program and other illicit activities.
Stuart Levey, a U.S. Treasury undersecretary who oversees the department's terrorism and financial intelligence section, met with officials from Hong Kong's de facto central bank, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the bank said in a brief statement to The Associated Press.
The authority refused to release details of the talks.
Levey was also meeting with executives from HSBC, the giant London-based lender with major operations in Hong Kong and elsewhere in Asia, according to a person familiar with the matter. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.
The meeting was "to remind people that there are regulations," the person said.
Levey traveled to China and Hong Kong this week to gain support for U.S. initiatives to curb North Korea's access to banks and businesses to buy and sell missile and nuclear technology. He arrived Monday in China and was meeting with government officials and private sector executives Wednesday through Friday.
However, at least one Hong Kong-based bank, the Bank of East Asia, declined to meet with Stuart.
"He requested a meeting with us, but unfortunately we were not able to meet with him," said the bank's chief executive, David Li. "We have nothing to do with North Korea."
A Treasury spokesperson did not immediately return a message seeking comment.
The international community has been struggling to rein in North Korea since the reclusive totalitarian state conducted a nuclear test in May.
The U.N. Security Council last month adopted tougher new sanctions, which North Korea defied last week with missile launches.
U.S. officials have gone after North Korea's funding before.
In 2005, the U.S. imposed financial restrictions on Banco Delta Asia, a bank near Hong Kong in the Chinese territory of Macau, over allegations it helped North Korea with money laundering and other illicit activities.
The move effectively cut Pyongyang off from the global financial system, analysts say, because banks in other countries, including North Korean ally China, did not want to jeopardize access to the U.S. financial system.
The restrictions were lifted in 2007 to nudge North Korea back to stalled nuclear talks.
Source: Los Angeles Times
Stuart Levey, a U.S. Treasury undersecretary who oversees the department's terrorism and financial intelligence section, met with officials from Hong Kong's de facto central bank, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the bank said in a brief statement to The Associated Press.
The authority refused to release details of the talks.
Levey was also meeting with executives from HSBC, the giant London-based lender with major operations in Hong Kong and elsewhere in Asia, according to a person familiar with the matter. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.
The meeting was "to remind people that there are regulations," the person said.
Levey traveled to China and Hong Kong this week to gain support for U.S. initiatives to curb North Korea's access to banks and businesses to buy and sell missile and nuclear technology. He arrived Monday in China and was meeting with government officials and private sector executives Wednesday through Friday.
However, at least one Hong Kong-based bank, the Bank of East Asia, declined to meet with Stuart.
"He requested a meeting with us, but unfortunately we were not able to meet with him," said the bank's chief executive, David Li. "We have nothing to do with North Korea."
A Treasury spokesperson did not immediately return a message seeking comment.
The international community has been struggling to rein in North Korea since the reclusive totalitarian state conducted a nuclear test in May.
The U.N. Security Council last month adopted tougher new sanctions, which North Korea defied last week with missile launches.
U.S. officials have gone after North Korea's funding before.
In 2005, the U.S. imposed financial restrictions on Banco Delta Asia, a bank near Hong Kong in the Chinese territory of Macau, over allegations it helped North Korea with money laundering and other illicit activities.
The move effectively cut Pyongyang off from the global financial system, analysts say, because banks in other countries, including North Korean ally China, did not want to jeopardize access to the U.S. financial system.
The restrictions were lifted in 2007 to nudge North Korea back to stalled nuclear talks.
Source: Los Angeles Times
on Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Macau's Financial Intelligence Office (GIF) was officially admitted as a member of the Egmont Group (EG) at the group's plenary meeting in Qatar, Doha.
According to a statement, this move reflects “the commitment and responsibility of Macau in the fight against money laundering and financing of terrorism (AML/CFT).
The EG was established in Brussels, Belgium in June 1995, as an informal international gathering for financial intelligence units (FIUs) worldwide to foster better communication amongst each other. The Secretariat is located in Toronto, Canada and up to 2008, there were a total of 108 FIUs from different jurisdictions that had joined up.
The objective of the EG is to provide a forum for FIUs around the world to improve co-operation in the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing, and to foster the implementation of domestic programs in this field. This support mainly includes expanding and systematizing international co-operation in the reciprocal exchange of information, as well as offering training to improve FIU personnel's expertise and capabilities, and promote the establishment of FIUs with other jurisdictions.
As a member of the EG, GIF is not only fostering co-operation with other jurisdictions, but also getting updated cross-border typologies information to further strengthen the efforts to fight money laundering and terrorism financing.
Source: Macau Daily Times
According to a statement, this move reflects “the commitment and responsibility of Macau in the fight against money laundering and financing of terrorism (AML/CFT).
The EG was established in Brussels, Belgium in June 1995, as an informal international gathering for financial intelligence units (FIUs) worldwide to foster better communication amongst each other. The Secretariat is located in Toronto, Canada and up to 2008, there were a total of 108 FIUs from different jurisdictions that had joined up.
The objective of the EG is to provide a forum for FIUs around the world to improve co-operation in the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing, and to foster the implementation of domestic programs in this field. This support mainly includes expanding and systematizing international co-operation in the reciprocal exchange of information, as well as offering training to improve FIU personnel's expertise and capabilities, and promote the establishment of FIUs with other jurisdictions.
As a member of the EG, GIF is not only fostering co-operation with other jurisdictions, but also getting updated cross-border typologies information to further strengthen the efforts to fight money laundering and terrorism financing.
Source: Macau Daily Times
on Thursday, February 1, 2007
HONG KONG (AP) - Banco Delta Asia - a Macau bank accused by the U.S. of helping North Korea distribute counterfeit money - relied on global banking group HSBC to check large deposits of U.S. dollars for North Korean customers, lawyers for the Macau lender have said.
The Macau lender's attorneys said in an Oct. 18 letter to U.S. investigators that the bank was a "relatively small, family-owned institution'' that was unable to check big batches of currency for fake bills.
"Since the bank did not have the sophisticated technology to analyze large deposits of U.S. currency, such deposits were sent to HSBC New York for analysis before being finally credited to the depositor's account,'' according to the letter, posted on the U.S. Treasury Department's Web site.
Most of the North Korean transactions were big "wholesale cash deposits,'' which were sent to HSBC, the letter said.
The Macau bank said it used its own older equipment to check smaller, retail deposits.
The equipment "did not function as well as the equipment used at HSBC New York,'' it said.
The letter to the U.S. department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network was written by New York-based attorney Joseph McLaughlin with the law firm of Heller Ehrman, which is representing Banco Delta Asia.
Heller Ehrman's Hong Kong office did not immediately return calls from The Associated Press on Friday.
HSBC spokesman Gareth Hewett in Hong Kong told the AP the bank does not comment on individual companies.
He added, "We take money laundering control very seriously. We comply stringently with anti-money-laundering regulations issued by our various regulators, including in the U.S.''
In 2005, the U.S. Treasury Department accused the Macau bank of willingly helping North Korea launder money and handle counterfeit U.S. currency.
Washington launched an informal financial embargo that enraged the North Koreans, who walked out of discussions about the nation's nuclear program.
The talks have recently restarted.
This week, a U.S. Treasury envoy Daniel Glaser said his agency's suspicions of illegal financial activity were confirmed by two days of talks with Pyongyang officials that ended Wednesday.
But North Korea has not commented publicly on the meetings with Glaser.
It has insisted that it is innocent and has repeatedly demanded that Washington lift financial restrictions.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/2/2/apworld/20070202122428&sec=apworld
The Macau lender's attorneys said in an Oct. 18 letter to U.S. investigators that the bank was a "relatively small, family-owned institution'' that was unable to check big batches of currency for fake bills.
"Since the bank did not have the sophisticated technology to analyze large deposits of U.S. currency, such deposits were sent to HSBC New York for analysis before being finally credited to the depositor's account,'' according to the letter, posted on the U.S. Treasury Department's Web site.
Most of the North Korean transactions were big "wholesale cash deposits,'' which were sent to HSBC, the letter said.
The Macau bank said it used its own older equipment to check smaller, retail deposits.
The equipment "did not function as well as the equipment used at HSBC New York,'' it said.
The letter to the U.S. department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network was written by New York-based attorney Joseph McLaughlin with the law firm of Heller Ehrman, which is representing Banco Delta Asia.
Heller Ehrman's Hong Kong office did not immediately return calls from The Associated Press on Friday.
HSBC spokesman Gareth Hewett in Hong Kong told the AP the bank does not comment on individual companies.
He added, "We take money laundering control very seriously. We comply stringently with anti-money-laundering regulations issued by our various regulators, including in the U.S.''
In 2005, the U.S. Treasury Department accused the Macau bank of willingly helping North Korea launder money and handle counterfeit U.S. currency.
Washington launched an informal financial embargo that enraged the North Koreans, who walked out of discussions about the nation's nuclear program.
The talks have recently restarted.
This week, a U.S. Treasury envoy Daniel Glaser said his agency's suspicions of illegal financial activity were confirmed by two days of talks with Pyongyang officials that ended Wednesday.
But North Korea has not commented publicly on the meetings with Glaser.
It has insisted that it is innocent and has repeatedly demanded that Washington lift financial restrictions.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/2/2/apworld/20070202122428&sec=apworld
on Tuesday, January 30, 2007
By Paul Wiseman, USA TODAY
HONG KONG — By the standards of international finance, the amount is trifling: $24 million — less than a lot of CEOs take home in a year.
But that sum — North Korean money stuck in the sleepy Chinese territory of Macau — could hold the key to ending a 4½-year nuclear standoff with North Korea.
The money was frozen 16 months ago when U.S. Treasury Undersecretary Stuart Levey accused a small bank in Macau, Banco Delta Asia, of being "a willing pawn" in North Korea's "corrupt financial activities."
North Korea wants its money back, and the money has become a bargaining chip as the United States leads the diplomatic effort to get North Korea's isolated Stalinist regime to give up its nuclear weapons program.
International talks aimed at dismantling North Korea's nuclear program are to resume Feb. 8 after breaking off in December.
Tuesday, a U.S. delegation led by Deputy Assistant Treasury Secretary Daniel Glaser met at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing with North Korean officials to discuss the $24 million and related allegations: that the communist state is a financial rogue engaged in counterfeiting and money laundering.
If the money talks go well, North Korea might be willing to make concessions on its nuclear program, says Park Young Ho, senior research fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification in Seoul.
Treasury officials won't comment on widespread speculation in Japanese and South Korean media that the United States is ready to OK the release of perhaps $13 million of the $24 million to give a boost to next week's nuclear talks, which will involve South Korea, China, Japan and Russia, in addition to the United States and North Korea.
The Bush administration alleges that North Korea raises hard currency through criminal activities — peddling pirated cigarettes and Viagra, trafficking in heroin and methamphetamine and printing counterfeit U.S. dollars. At least $45 million in North Korean "supernotes" — near-perfect duplicates of U.S. $100 bills — have been found in circulation, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) reported last year. North Korea earns $15 million to $25 million a year from counterfeiting, CRS has estimated.
Some of those bogus North Korean bills have made their way to Macau, 40 miles west of Hong Kong. Banco Delta Asia, which has $320 million in assets and eight branches (including one in a casino) was North Korea's banker in Macau.
In 1994, a teller at the bank caught two executives from Zokwang Trading, a North Korean front company, trying to deposit $250,000 in counterfeit bills; the men carried diplomatic passports.
Despite the incident, Banco Delta Asia continued to do business with Zokwang for more than a decade — a sign of the bank's tolerance for illicit North Korean business, the U.S. Treasury says. The Treasury chided the government of Macau, a former Portuguese colony that is a specially administered region of China, for lax money-laundering regulations.
The Treasury hasn't imposed any sanctions on Banco Delta Asia. The regulatory case against the bank has been pending since September 2005.
Still, when the bank appeared on the Treasury's blacklist, other banks stopped doing business with it. Customers withdrew $133 million — more than a third of the bank's deposits — within a week. Macau's government froze the $24 million in North Korean accounts, replaced the bank's senior management and suspended chairman Stanley Au, a well-known entrepreneur and former Macau legislator who continues to own the bank. The new management team ended the bank's business relations with North Korea.
The bank also hired U.S. lawyers and lobbyists, who have tried unsuccessfully to get the Treasury to drop its case. The United States hasn't offered detailed evidence against Banco Delta Asia, noting that it has relied on classified sources. Glaser says Treasury officials have studied 300,000 pages of bank documents. "We are quite confident of what we said in September 2005," he says. "Now that we've had a chance to look behind the veil a bit, we know we made the right decision."
In Macau, the bank is widely seen as a pawn in the U.S. diplomatic campaign against North Korea. "There's a general perception that the Americans are using this as a weapon, a way to pressure Pyongyang," says Paulo Azevedo, executive director of Macau Business magazine. "Everybody knew for 10 years about the strong connections between North Korea and Macau. (North Korean airline) Air Koryo was flying through Macau. The flights were full of luxury goods going to Pyongyang. Everybody knew — and the Americans didn't? What a coincidence" that the issue emerged in the middle of the nuclear standoff.
Levey, Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, says, "This is not about punishing North Korea. This is about protecting the international financial system."
Whatever the U.S. motivation, the North Koreans reacted with fury, pulling out of the six-party nuclear talks in November 2005. Park at the Korean unification institute says the North Koreans see the allegations of money laundering and counterfeiting as a slap at their leader and a suggestion that dictator Kim Jong Il is an international gangster. "Face-saving is very important to North Korea," he says.
Macau, which has overtaken Las Vegas as the world's No. 1 gambling market, has passed a stronger anti-money-laundering act.
"We're really pleased with the progress Macau's made," Glaser says. "It's important they play by the rules."
Azevedo of Macau Business agrees that Macau needed to crack down on money laundering. "If the Americans are the only ones with the muscle to stop it, then OK," he says. "Better late than never."
Contributing: Barbara Slavin in Washington; wire reports
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-01-30-macau-bank_x.htm
HONG KONG — By the standards of international finance, the amount is trifling: $24 million — less than a lot of CEOs take home in a year.
But that sum — North Korean money stuck in the sleepy Chinese territory of Macau — could hold the key to ending a 4½-year nuclear standoff with North Korea.
The money was frozen 16 months ago when U.S. Treasury Undersecretary Stuart Levey accused a small bank in Macau, Banco Delta Asia, of being "a willing pawn" in North Korea's "corrupt financial activities."
North Korea wants its money back, and the money has become a bargaining chip as the United States leads the diplomatic effort to get North Korea's isolated Stalinist regime to give up its nuclear weapons program.
International talks aimed at dismantling North Korea's nuclear program are to resume Feb. 8 after breaking off in December.
Tuesday, a U.S. delegation led by Deputy Assistant Treasury Secretary Daniel Glaser met at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing with North Korean officials to discuss the $24 million and related allegations: that the communist state is a financial rogue engaged in counterfeiting and money laundering.
If the money talks go well, North Korea might be willing to make concessions on its nuclear program, says Park Young Ho, senior research fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification in Seoul.
Treasury officials won't comment on widespread speculation in Japanese and South Korean media that the United States is ready to OK the release of perhaps $13 million of the $24 million to give a boost to next week's nuclear talks, which will involve South Korea, China, Japan and Russia, in addition to the United States and North Korea.
The Bush administration alleges that North Korea raises hard currency through criminal activities — peddling pirated cigarettes and Viagra, trafficking in heroin and methamphetamine and printing counterfeit U.S. dollars. At least $45 million in North Korean "supernotes" — near-perfect duplicates of U.S. $100 bills — have been found in circulation, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) reported last year. North Korea earns $15 million to $25 million a year from counterfeiting, CRS has estimated.
Some of those bogus North Korean bills have made their way to Macau, 40 miles west of Hong Kong. Banco Delta Asia, which has $320 million in assets and eight branches (including one in a casino) was North Korea's banker in Macau.
In 1994, a teller at the bank caught two executives from Zokwang Trading, a North Korean front company, trying to deposit $250,000 in counterfeit bills; the men carried diplomatic passports.
Despite the incident, Banco Delta Asia continued to do business with Zokwang for more than a decade — a sign of the bank's tolerance for illicit North Korean business, the U.S. Treasury says. The Treasury chided the government of Macau, a former Portuguese colony that is a specially administered region of China, for lax money-laundering regulations.
The Treasury hasn't imposed any sanctions on Banco Delta Asia. The regulatory case against the bank has been pending since September 2005.
Still, when the bank appeared on the Treasury's blacklist, other banks stopped doing business with it. Customers withdrew $133 million — more than a third of the bank's deposits — within a week. Macau's government froze the $24 million in North Korean accounts, replaced the bank's senior management and suspended chairman Stanley Au, a well-known entrepreneur and former Macau legislator who continues to own the bank. The new management team ended the bank's business relations with North Korea.
The bank also hired U.S. lawyers and lobbyists, who have tried unsuccessfully to get the Treasury to drop its case. The United States hasn't offered detailed evidence against Banco Delta Asia, noting that it has relied on classified sources. Glaser says Treasury officials have studied 300,000 pages of bank documents. "We are quite confident of what we said in September 2005," he says. "Now that we've had a chance to look behind the veil a bit, we know we made the right decision."
In Macau, the bank is widely seen as a pawn in the U.S. diplomatic campaign against North Korea. "There's a general perception that the Americans are using this as a weapon, a way to pressure Pyongyang," says Paulo Azevedo, executive director of Macau Business magazine. "Everybody knew for 10 years about the strong connections between North Korea and Macau. (North Korean airline) Air Koryo was flying through Macau. The flights were full of luxury goods going to Pyongyang. Everybody knew — and the Americans didn't? What a coincidence" that the issue emerged in the middle of the nuclear standoff.
Levey, Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, says, "This is not about punishing North Korea. This is about protecting the international financial system."
Whatever the U.S. motivation, the North Koreans reacted with fury, pulling out of the six-party nuclear talks in November 2005. Park at the Korean unification institute says the North Koreans see the allegations of money laundering and counterfeiting as a slap at their leader and a suggestion that dictator Kim Jong Il is an international gangster. "Face-saving is very important to North Korea," he says.
Macau, which has overtaken Las Vegas as the world's No. 1 gambling market, has passed a stronger anti-money-laundering act.
"We're really pleased with the progress Macau's made," Glaser says. "It's important they play by the rules."
Azevedo of Macau Business agrees that Macau needed to crack down on money laundering. "If the Americans are the only ones with the muscle to stop it, then OK," he says. "Better late than never."
Contributing: Barbara Slavin in Washington; wire reports
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-01-30-macau-bank_x.htm
on Tuesday, December 26, 2006
The government of Macau has no plans to return North Korea’s frozen assets in the Banco Delta Asia based there to Pyongyang, it told the U.S. Treasury, even if Washington drops the bank from a list of “primary money laundering concerns.”
The U.S. Treasury said on the website of its Financial Crimes Enforcement Network this was the reading of official counsel for the Macau-based bank, the U.S. law firm Heller Ehrman, as stated on Oct. 18. “Although the government has expressed no view to us, recent measures taken by the United Nations likely will provide the government of Macau with a stronger basis for continuing to hold the funds," the letter said referring to UN Security Council sanctions after Pyongyang tested a nuclear weapon the same month.
Following the freeze on dealings with the bank in September last year, BDA promised the U.S. government in letters in February and April this year to conduct no transactions with North Korea. The Macau government asked BDA to tell the U.S. government that it will keep these funds frozen “as long as legally possible.” Macau anticipates that the decision is at least a year away regardless of any lawsuits that may be brought. That means North Korea has little hope of seeing the US$24 million it has in the bank any time soon, even if the U.S. lifts the sanction.
An official in Macau’s financial management bureau on Tuesday confirmed that the territory is not considering unfreezing the North Korean account, saying the U.S. merely identified the bank as a money laundering channel but it was the Macau government that froze the North Korean assets.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200612/200612270028.html
The U.S. Treasury said on the website of its Financial Crimes Enforcement Network this was the reading of official counsel for the Macau-based bank, the U.S. law firm Heller Ehrman, as stated on Oct. 18. “Although the government has expressed no view to us, recent measures taken by the United Nations likely will provide the government of Macau with a stronger basis for continuing to hold the funds," the letter said referring to UN Security Council sanctions after Pyongyang tested a nuclear weapon the same month.
Following the freeze on dealings with the bank in September last year, BDA promised the U.S. government in letters in February and April this year to conduct no transactions with North Korea. The Macau government asked BDA to tell the U.S. government that it will keep these funds frozen “as long as legally possible.” Macau anticipates that the decision is at least a year away regardless of any lawsuits that may be brought. That means North Korea has little hope of seeing the US$24 million it has in the bank any time soon, even if the U.S. lifts the sanction.
An official in Macau’s financial management bureau on Tuesday confirmed that the territory is not considering unfreezing the North Korean account, saying the U.S. merely identified the bank as a money laundering channel but it was the Macau government that froze the North Korean assets.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200612/200612270028.html
on Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Anna Fifield, Seoul December 19, 2006
BANCO Delta Asia, the Macau bank accused of laundering counterfeit and illegally earned money for North Korea, acted as a conduit for tens and possibly hundreds of millions of dollars in cash flows to and from North Korea last year, according to bank records obtained by the Financial Times.
These documents, plus new revelations about gold sales through the bank, suggest BDA was much more important to North Korea than realised.
They show also that a lot of apparently legitimate trade was conducted through BDA.
BDA accounts containing about $US24 million ($31 million) and linked to North Korea were frozen after US Treasury officials labelled the bank in September last year "a primary money-laundering concern".
Of that, about $US7 million was held in accounts used by Pyongyang's Daedong Credit Bank, a North Korean and foreign joint-venture commercial bank that was taken over this year by British bankers.
Although the amount frozen in the accounts has been known for some time, the volume of cash going through BDA has never been clear.
According to the detailed documents, Daedong transmitted $US49.26 million through BDA in the first nine months of last year, until the accounts were suspended.
Out of Daedong's frozen $US7 million, almost half belonged to the British American Tobacco-Taesong cigarette-making joint venture.
The documents show BAT sent $US14.7 million from its joint venture and stand-alone account to banks that included Citibank in Singapore and HSBC in Hong Kong.
This included $US2.3 million in July 2005 and $US2.9 million in August 2005.
BAT official Simon Millson said the company was "clearly" still concerned about the frozen cash and was trying to get the money out.
If the Daedong accounts were to exemplify cash flows through BDA, the documents suggest much more money may have flowed through the Macau bank.
Daedong's new owners, led by Colin McAskill, have sent the bank's financial records, including details of remittances through BDA, to the US State and Treasury departments to show that all the Daedong money was legitimately earned.
But Mr McAskill said the authorities did not appear to have acted on the information.
"If they at least give us our money back, that's a start," he said.
"At least, we will get an indication that they are aiming for a solution."
After 16 months of investigation, the US Treasury has yet to present evidence but has stressed that the financial actions are entirely separate from the nuclear issue.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20947286-36375,00.html
BANCO Delta Asia, the Macau bank accused of laundering counterfeit and illegally earned money for North Korea, acted as a conduit for tens and possibly hundreds of millions of dollars in cash flows to and from North Korea last year, according to bank records obtained by the Financial Times.
These documents, plus new revelations about gold sales through the bank, suggest BDA was much more important to North Korea than realised.
They show also that a lot of apparently legitimate trade was conducted through BDA.
BDA accounts containing about $US24 million ($31 million) and linked to North Korea were frozen after US Treasury officials labelled the bank in September last year "a primary money-laundering concern".
Of that, about $US7 million was held in accounts used by Pyongyang's Daedong Credit Bank, a North Korean and foreign joint-venture commercial bank that was taken over this year by British bankers.
Although the amount frozen in the accounts has been known for some time, the volume of cash going through BDA has never been clear.
According to the detailed documents, Daedong transmitted $US49.26 million through BDA in the first nine months of last year, until the accounts were suspended.
Out of Daedong's frozen $US7 million, almost half belonged to the British American Tobacco-Taesong cigarette-making joint venture.
The documents show BAT sent $US14.7 million from its joint venture and stand-alone account to banks that included Citibank in Singapore and HSBC in Hong Kong.
This included $US2.3 million in July 2005 and $US2.9 million in August 2005.
BAT official Simon Millson said the company was "clearly" still concerned about the frozen cash and was trying to get the money out.
If the Daedong accounts were to exemplify cash flows through BDA, the documents suggest much more money may have flowed through the Macau bank.
Daedong's new owners, led by Colin McAskill, have sent the bank's financial records, including details of remittances through BDA, to the US State and Treasury departments to show that all the Daedong money was legitimately earned.
But Mr McAskill said the authorities did not appear to have acted on the information.
"If they at least give us our money back, that's a start," he said.
"At least, we will get an indication that they are aiming for a solution."
After 16 months of investigation, the US Treasury has yet to present evidence but has stressed that the financial actions are entirely separate from the nuclear issue.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20947286-36375,00.html
BEIJING, December 18 - North Korea demands that the UN lift its sanctions, and that the United States unfreeze its bank accounts, as preconditions for abandoning its nuclear program, a source close to the ongoing international talks on the Pyongyang nuclear issue said Monday.
The six-party negotiations, aimed at persuading the reclusive communist state to abandon its nuclear program, resumed in the Chinese capital earlier in the day after a 13-month standoff.
The source said, "They [North Korea] want the sanctions to be lifted, and diplomatic relations with the United States to be established."
Following North Korea's October 9 announcement that it had conducted its first nuclear bomb test, the UN Security Council passed a special resolution October 14 blocking all deliveries of military equipment and supplies to the country.
Last year the U.S. accused North Korea of printing fake dollars and laundering money through foreign banks, and ordered a Macao-based bank to freeze North Korean accounts holding $24 million.
The six-party talks, involving North and South Korea, Russia, Japan, China and the U.S., were initially launched in 2003 after Pyongyang withdrew from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
At the September 2005 talks round, Pyongyang agreed to abandon its nuclear program in exchange for aid and security guarantees, but later boycotted further meetings, in protest against Washington's financial sanctions.
North Korea, which does not have diplomatic relations with the U.S., agreed to return to the talks table after a long pause, but insisted that the agenda focus on the financial restrictions.
Talks on unfreezing Pyongyang's bank accounts are expected begin in Beijing Tuesday, after the arrival of North Korea's financial delegation, led by the country's Central Bank chief.
http://en.rian.ru/world/20061218/57072869.html
The six-party negotiations, aimed at persuading the reclusive communist state to abandon its nuclear program, resumed in the Chinese capital earlier in the day after a 13-month standoff.
The source said, "They [North Korea] want the sanctions to be lifted, and diplomatic relations with the United States to be established."
Following North Korea's October 9 announcement that it had conducted its first nuclear bomb test, the UN Security Council passed a special resolution October 14 blocking all deliveries of military equipment and supplies to the country.
Last year the U.S. accused North Korea of printing fake dollars and laundering money through foreign banks, and ordered a Macao-based bank to freeze North Korean accounts holding $24 million.
The six-party talks, involving North and South Korea, Russia, Japan, China and the U.S., were initially launched in 2003 after Pyongyang withdrew from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
At the September 2005 talks round, Pyongyang agreed to abandon its nuclear program in exchange for aid and security guarantees, but later boycotted further meetings, in protest against Washington's financial sanctions.
North Korea, which does not have diplomatic relations with the U.S., agreed to return to the talks table after a long pause, but insisted that the agenda focus on the financial restrictions.
Talks on unfreezing Pyongyang's bank accounts are expected begin in Beijing Tuesday, after the arrival of North Korea's financial delegation, led by the country's Central Bank chief.
http://en.rian.ru/world/20061218/57072869.html
Macau's Banco Delta Asia (BDA) has handled tens and possibly hundreds of millions of dollars for North Korea last year, the Financial Times reported, citing bank records.
BDA, which reportedly admitted it also traded gold for the Pyongyang regime, also conducted legitimate trade for North Korea, it said.
BDA was last year pinpointed as a link in the laundering of millions of dollars to North Korea, prompting the US Treasury to urge the Macau government to freeze some 24 mln usd of the lender's assets.
Almost a third of that -- about 7 mln usd -- was held in accounts used by the Pyongyang-based Daedong Credit Bank, a North Korean/foreign joint venture commercial bank taken over this year by a group of British bankers.
The report said Daedong transmitted 49.26 mln usd through BDA during the first nine months of last year, until the accounts were suspended.
The newspaper also said almost half of Daedong's seven million dollars belonged to the British American Tobacco/Taesong cigarette-making joint venture.
It added documents showed BAT sent 14.7 mln usd from its joint venture and its stand-alone account to banks including Citibank in Singapore and HSBC (nyse: HBC - news - people ) in Hong Kong.
http://www.forbes.com/home/feeds/afx/2006/12/17/afx3262164.html
BDA, which reportedly admitted it also traded gold for the Pyongyang regime, also conducted legitimate trade for North Korea, it said.
BDA was last year pinpointed as a link in the laundering of millions of dollars to North Korea, prompting the US Treasury to urge the Macau government to freeze some 24 mln usd of the lender's assets.
Almost a third of that -- about 7 mln usd -- was held in accounts used by the Pyongyang-based Daedong Credit Bank, a North Korean/foreign joint venture commercial bank taken over this year by a group of British bankers.
The report said Daedong transmitted 49.26 mln usd through BDA during the first nine months of last year, until the accounts were suspended.
The newspaper also said almost half of Daedong's seven million dollars belonged to the British American Tobacco/Taesong cigarette-making joint venture.
It added documents showed BAT sent 14.7 mln usd from its joint venture and its stand-alone account to banks including Citibank in Singapore and HSBC (nyse: HBC - news - people ) in Hong Kong.
http://www.forbes.com/home/feeds/afx/2006/12/17/afx3262164.html
on Tuesday, December 12, 2006
By Park Song-wu
Staff Reporter
12-12-2006
A ranking U.S. official said in New York on Monday that the international community should ensure that all rogue states’ financial activities are stopped, whether they are "seemingly legitimate or illicit."
Stuart Levey, the U.S. Treasury Department’s undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said that financial institutions must implement effective programs, including targeted financial sanctions, to combat threats from terrorist groups and proliferators of weapons of mass destruction such as North Korea.
His remarks came as the six-party talks on Pyongyang’s nuclear programs set to resume in Beijing next week. During the talks, the North hopes to find a negotiated way out of financial restrictions imposed by the United States for its alleged illegal activities, such as counterfeiting and money laundering.
Washington promised to set up a working group within the six-party framework to discuss sanctions. The North’s accounts in Banco Delta Asia in Macau were frozen in September 2006, and sanctions have now almost severed Pyongyang’s access to the global financial network.
"We must also go beyond simply designating individuals and entities that have been named by the United Nations and proactively identify terrorist supporters that threaten our societies, hold them publicly accountable, isolate them financially and commercially, and ensure that all of their activities, whether seemingly legitimate or illicit, are shut down,’’ he said.
In a related development, the Macau bank recently said in a filing to the U.S. Treasury Department that it bought gold from the North, Bloomberg reported on Monday.
The bank said in a letter dated Oct. 18 that it "purchased a large share of the gold bullion produced by North Korea’’ before being listed by the United States as a "primary money-laundering concern."
"Money could have been laundered, but there is no specific evidence that the bank was aware that it was being used for this purpose, nor that it facilitated any criminal activities,'' the letter said.
The bank said it revamped its management system after the U.S. action, froze North Korea-related accounts, hired an outside firm to establish procedures against money laundering and asked the Treasury Department to reconsider its ruling.
North Korean assets worth about $24 million are held at the bank.
A North Korean official in New York confirmed Pyongyang’s participation in the six-party talks on Tuesday.
"The talks will be held next week, but it is the moment to watch how talks develop," Yonhap News Agency quoted Kim Myong-gil, a minister for North Korea's mission to the United Nations in New York, as saying.
He declined to elaborate, the wire service said.
North Korea agreed in September 2005 to dismantle its nuclear programs in return for security guarantees and economic aid, but follow-up negotiations have not made any progress.
http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/nation/200612/kt2006121217132711990.htm
Staff Reporter
12-12-2006
A ranking U.S. official said in New York on Monday that the international community should ensure that all rogue states’ financial activities are stopped, whether they are "seemingly legitimate or illicit."
Stuart Levey, the U.S. Treasury Department’s undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said that financial institutions must implement effective programs, including targeted financial sanctions, to combat threats from terrorist groups and proliferators of weapons of mass destruction such as North Korea.
His remarks came as the six-party talks on Pyongyang’s nuclear programs set to resume in Beijing next week. During the talks, the North hopes to find a negotiated way out of financial restrictions imposed by the United States for its alleged illegal activities, such as counterfeiting and money laundering.
Washington promised to set up a working group within the six-party framework to discuss sanctions. The North’s accounts in Banco Delta Asia in Macau were frozen in September 2006, and sanctions have now almost severed Pyongyang’s access to the global financial network.
"We must also go beyond simply designating individuals and entities that have been named by the United Nations and proactively identify terrorist supporters that threaten our societies, hold them publicly accountable, isolate them financially and commercially, and ensure that all of their activities, whether seemingly legitimate or illicit, are shut down,’’ he said.
In a related development, the Macau bank recently said in a filing to the U.S. Treasury Department that it bought gold from the North, Bloomberg reported on Monday.
The bank said in a letter dated Oct. 18 that it "purchased a large share of the gold bullion produced by North Korea’’ before being listed by the United States as a "primary money-laundering concern."
"Money could have been laundered, but there is no specific evidence that the bank was aware that it was being used for this purpose, nor that it facilitated any criminal activities,'' the letter said.
The bank said it revamped its management system after the U.S. action, froze North Korea-related accounts, hired an outside firm to establish procedures against money laundering and asked the Treasury Department to reconsider its ruling.
North Korean assets worth about $24 million are held at the bank.
A North Korean official in New York confirmed Pyongyang’s participation in the six-party talks on Tuesday.
"The talks will be held next week, but it is the moment to watch how talks develop," Yonhap News Agency quoted Kim Myong-gil, a minister for North Korea's mission to the United Nations in New York, as saying.
He declined to elaborate, the wire service said.
North Korea agreed in September 2005 to dismantle its nuclear programs in return for security guarantees and economic aid, but follow-up negotiations have not made any progress.
http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/nation/200612/kt2006121217132711990.htm
on Monday, December 11, 2006
By Stuart Biggs
Last Updated: December 11, 2006 00:26 EST
Dec. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Banco Delta Asia S.A.R.L., the Macau, China-based bank accused by the U.S. of money laundering for North Korea, said it bought gold from the communist state in a filing to the U.S. Treasury.
North Korea has made the unfreezing of about $24 million in assets held at Banco Delta Asia a pre-condition to returning to six-nation talks over its nuclear weapons program that broke off in September 2005. The U.S. alleged that the bank helped North Korean officials accept ``surreptitious'' multi-million dollar transactions, some linked to drug trafficking.
Banco Delta Asia, in an Oct. 18 letter to the U.S. Treasury Department by law firm Heller Ehrman LLP, said the bank ``purchased a large share of the gold bullion produced by North Korea'' prior to the allegations and no longer does so.
``Money could have been laundered, but there is no specific evidence that the bank was aware that it was being used for this purpose, nor that it facilitated any criminal activities,'' the letter said. The bank ``paid insufficient attention to maintaining its own books.''
Banco Delta Asia also said North Korea's Tanchon Commercial Bank, described by the U.S. as the Pyongyang government's main financial agent for sales of arms and ballistic missiles, remained a customer for three months after Tanchon was blacklisted by the U.S. in June 2005 ``due to shortcomings in the information technology systems.''
The bank said it put in place new managers after the U.S. action and closed North Korean-related accounts, hired an outside firm to set up procedures against money laundering and asked the Treasury to reconsider its ruling.
``The Bank has not done any business with North Korean or North Korean-related entities for over a year and pledged not to do any in the future,'' the letter said.
The six-party negotiations may resume on Dec. 18 or 19, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing unidentified South Korean government sources.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601101&sid=aiP.PcMgfTsY&refer=japan
Last Updated: December 11, 2006 00:26 EST
Dec. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Banco Delta Asia S.A.R.L., the Macau, China-based bank accused by the U.S. of money laundering for North Korea, said it bought gold from the communist state in a filing to the U.S. Treasury.
North Korea has made the unfreezing of about $24 million in assets held at Banco Delta Asia a pre-condition to returning to six-nation talks over its nuclear weapons program that broke off in September 2005. The U.S. alleged that the bank helped North Korean officials accept ``surreptitious'' multi-million dollar transactions, some linked to drug trafficking.
Banco Delta Asia, in an Oct. 18 letter to the U.S. Treasury Department by law firm Heller Ehrman LLP, said the bank ``purchased a large share of the gold bullion produced by North Korea'' prior to the allegations and no longer does so.
``Money could have been laundered, but there is no specific evidence that the bank was aware that it was being used for this purpose, nor that it facilitated any criminal activities,'' the letter said. The bank ``paid insufficient attention to maintaining its own books.''
Banco Delta Asia also said North Korea's Tanchon Commercial Bank, described by the U.S. as the Pyongyang government's main financial agent for sales of arms and ballistic missiles, remained a customer for three months after Tanchon was blacklisted by the U.S. in June 2005 ``due to shortcomings in the information technology systems.''
The bank said it put in place new managers after the U.S. action and closed North Korean-related accounts, hired an outside firm to set up procedures against money laundering and asked the Treasury to reconsider its ruling.
``The Bank has not done any business with North Korean or North Korean-related entities for over a year and pledged not to do any in the future,'' the letter said.
The six-party negotiations may resume on Dec. 18 or 19, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing unidentified South Korean government sources.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601101&sid=aiP.PcMgfTsY&refer=japan
on Sunday, December 10, 2006
December 09, 2006
Macau's prosecutors were Friday examining evidence to determine whether to charge detained disgraced former transport minister Ao Man-long with corruption.
Ao, 50, who was arrested last Wednesday, and 11 other suspects were taken to the prosecution office in handcuffs, where evidence was laid out before them. They face allegations of taking and receiving bribes and of laundering money overseas through a network of bank accounts to disguise the transactions.
Among the suspects were Ao's father Ao Wing-kwong, younger brother Ao Man-fu and a sister-in-law.
A statement from Macau's Commission Against Corruption, or CCAC, named the alleged bribers as a merchant surnamed Ho, a general manager surnamed Ioeng and an accountant surnamed Leung, of a company contracted for big construction projects.
Ao and another eight men and three women were arrested Wednesday night following more than 150 hours of investigations launched last week, the statement said.
"According to [the] source of information, the CCAC suspected that someone had abused his position and power in order to accept bribes. He [Ao] registered some shell companies abroad and cleaned the corrupt money in a secretive and zig-zag way through bank account networks," it alleged.
It said police conducted raids on the suspects' homes and offices and found more than HK$97,000 worth of Macau patacas and Hong Kong dollars. Police also confiscated contracts in newly bought apartments.
"Someone admitted opening bank accounts to operate illegal financial activities, during the investigation," it added.
The Independent Commission Against Corruption, which is cooperating in the investigation, refused to comment on, or confirm, that Hong Kong residents were among those arrested and that local bank accounts were being probed.
The merchant has been identified as Ho Meng-fai, president of San Meng Fai Engineering and Construction Company, one of the largest contractors in Macau.
Prior to the handover in 1999 San Meng Fai had not been involved in any government contract, but following the handover some 15 out of 24 construction projects conducted by the company, estimated to be worth at least HK$1 billion, had been awarded by the government, 12 of them by Ao's department.
A company spokesperson said San Meng Fai was one of the leading developers in Macau, responsible for many construction projects around the world, employing about 300 workers in Macau and at least 5,000 workers around the world.
According to the company Web site, San Meng Fai Engineering and Construction Company was established by Ho in 1982.
Describing the incident as heartbreaking, Macau Chief Executive Edmund Ho Hau-wah said the central government had agreed to the removal of Ao from official duties.
He stressed the government placed confidence in public servants and told them to look at the issue objectively, stay away from hearsay and stand by the facts, and be confident in the Judiciary to make a just judgment.
News of the arrests shocked the former Portuguese enclave, which has worked hard in recent years to shake off its reputation as a haven for gambling- related sleaze and criminality.
Since the handover central and local authorities have clamped down on loan sharks, pimps and triad gangs that flourished under Lisbon's lax control.
If Ao is charged, the case will be sent straight to the Court of Final Appeal due to his senior rank, in accordance with Macau law.
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=11&art_id=33735&sid=11267427&con_type=1
Macau's prosecutors were Friday examining evidence to determine whether to charge detained disgraced former transport minister Ao Man-long with corruption.
Ao, 50, who was arrested last Wednesday, and 11 other suspects were taken to the prosecution office in handcuffs, where evidence was laid out before them. They face allegations of taking and receiving bribes and of laundering money overseas through a network of bank accounts to disguise the transactions.
Among the suspects were Ao's father Ao Wing-kwong, younger brother Ao Man-fu and a sister-in-law.
A statement from Macau's Commission Against Corruption, or CCAC, named the alleged bribers as a merchant surnamed Ho, a general manager surnamed Ioeng and an accountant surnamed Leung, of a company contracted for big construction projects.
Ao and another eight men and three women were arrested Wednesday night following more than 150 hours of investigations launched last week, the statement said.
"According to [the] source of information, the CCAC suspected that someone had abused his position and power in order to accept bribes. He [Ao] registered some shell companies abroad and cleaned the corrupt money in a secretive and zig-zag way through bank account networks," it alleged.
It said police conducted raids on the suspects' homes and offices and found more than HK$97,000 worth of Macau patacas and Hong Kong dollars. Police also confiscated contracts in newly bought apartments.
"Someone admitted opening bank accounts to operate illegal financial activities, during the investigation," it added.
The Independent Commission Against Corruption, which is cooperating in the investigation, refused to comment on, or confirm, that Hong Kong residents were among those arrested and that local bank accounts were being probed.
The merchant has been identified as Ho Meng-fai, president of San Meng Fai Engineering and Construction Company, one of the largest contractors in Macau.
Prior to the handover in 1999 San Meng Fai had not been involved in any government contract, but following the handover some 15 out of 24 construction projects conducted by the company, estimated to be worth at least HK$1 billion, had been awarded by the government, 12 of them by Ao's department.
A company spokesperson said San Meng Fai was one of the leading developers in Macau, responsible for many construction projects around the world, employing about 300 workers in Macau and at least 5,000 workers around the world.
According to the company Web site, San Meng Fai Engineering and Construction Company was established by Ho in 1982.
Describing the incident as heartbreaking, Macau Chief Executive Edmund Ho Hau-wah said the central government had agreed to the removal of Ao from official duties.
He stressed the government placed confidence in public servants and told them to look at the issue objectively, stay away from hearsay and stand by the facts, and be confident in the Judiciary to make a just judgment.
News of the arrests shocked the former Portuguese enclave, which has worked hard in recent years to shake off its reputation as a haven for gambling- related sleaze and criminality.
Since the handover central and local authorities have clamped down on loan sharks, pimps and triad gangs that flourished under Lisbon's lax control.
If Ao is charged, the case will be sent straight to the Court of Final Appeal due to his senior rank, in accordance with Macau law.
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=11&art_id=33735&sid=11267427&con_type=1
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