Jurisdiction
Finance - Money Laundering

The US Treasury Department announced a decision to bar U.S. banks from dealing with Banco Delta Asia in Macau who had been considered a "willing pawn" in illicit North Korean financial dealings. The US move will allow Macau to decide whether to release an estimated $8 million to $12 million in frozen accounts of North Korea as part of the implemention of a disarmament agreement with North Korea. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman expressed "deep regret" over the US applying its domestic law to the Macau bank. The owner of the bank denied money-laundering allegations against the bank and pledged not to re-establish financial ties with North Korea.