The U.S. Department of the Treasury on Friday finalized moves to blockade North Korea’s transactions with the U.S. and third country financial institutions.
The Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a “final rule” under Section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act.
The change was initially proposed in June 2016, with the announcement that the U.S. had designated the North a primary money laundering concern for the first time.
“Specifically, the final rule prohibits U.S. financial institutions from opening or maintaining correspondent accounts for North Korean banks,” the Treasury Department said in a written statement.
“[The rule] also requires U.S. financial institutions to apply additional due diligence measures in order to prevent North Korean financial institutions from gaining improper indirect access to U.S. correspondent accounts,” it added.
The department said that the North Korean regime had continued to use state-controlled financial institutions and front companies to conduct illicit international financial transactions.
Source: https://www.nknews.org/2016/11/u-s-finalizes-blockade-of-n-koreas-financial-transactions/
