U.S. lawmakers are considering drafting new legislation that would mandate a ban on Chinese financial institutions with ties to blacklisted entities in North Korea ahead of the country's expected test of an intercontinental ballistic missile.
The United States blacklisted the North Korean head-of-state Kim Jong Un and 10 other officials on Wednesday for their purported role in extrajudicial killings, torture and other human rights abuses.
U.N. Security Council sanctions imposed on North Korea last week could require U.S. financial institutions to more effectively scrutinize correspondent transactions and trade financing linked to corporate accounts in Asia, according to compliance sources.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a measure in a voice vote that would require American officials to determine whether to punish foreign banks that maintain ties with North Korea.
Banks in China, Southeast Asia and Europe will soon see their compliance duties get tougher under new U.N. sanctions measures aimed at stifling North Korea's nuclear arms program, say analysts.
U.S. lawmakers will introduce sanctions legislation targeting North Korea's use of criminal proceeds and third-country banks that finance its nuclear program, members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee said Tuesday.
Although American financial institutions and the North Korean government rarely cross paths, U.S. officials have numerous avenues to sanction the Asian country for its latest nuclear weapons test, say attorneys.
The U.S. Treasury Department has accelerated efforts to remove qualified individuals and entities from its list of Specially Designated Nationals, according to the list's chief administrator.
The United States expanded economic sanctions measures against North Korea Monday, blacklisting 12 entities and individuals and issuing an executive order under which new prohibitions can be enacted.
U.S. officials may be looking at 200 bank accounts allegedly tied to North Korean leaders in Asia, Europe and Russia, the U.S. and India sign an MOU to share AML data and the head of Kosovo's central bank is arrested, in this week's news roundup.
New U.S. sanctions targeting North Korea, including a likely block on assets tied to the nation's top officials, will require the cooperation from Chinese monetary authorities to be effective, say analysts.
Bank of America has cut its ties to North Korea after the nation topped an intergovernmental blacklist of countries with poor anti-money laundering regimes, according to a bank compliance official.
As the United States and Europe continue to press China to support new sanctions against Iran, North Korea has launched a bank to circumvent international trade and financial prohibitions against it.
An influential financial crime watchdog group released Thursday a much-anticipated list of nearly 30 countries with anti-money laundering and counter terrorism financing deficiencies.
The U.S. Treasury Department blacklisted a North Korean bank and the president of another financial institution Friday for allegedly helping the country's communist government develop its weapons programs.
The United Nations Security Council Friday unanimously approved strengthening trade and economic sanctions against North Korea, including the reinstitution of financial freezes passed but not acted on in 2006.
Economic sanctions expected against North Korea over its test of a nuclear bomb will likely include companies in China, South Korea, Thailand and Russia linked to trade with the communist nation, say consultants.
A recent United Nations resolution against North Korea will bolster sanctions against the country but may fall short of results achieved by a 2006 asset freeze, say observers.
The Bush Administration removed North Korea from its state sponsors of terrorism list Saturday, a decision likely to have little impact on economic sanctions against the country.
A decision by the Bush administration to remove North Korea from its state sponsors of terror list will have little impact on how financial institutions and other companies deal with the Asian country.