US Treasury official presses Hong Kong, Beijing on N. Korea

A U.S. Treasury official said yesterday she has urged officials in Hong Kong and Beijing to step up measures to counter North Korean smuggling and financing, as part of Washington’s fine tuning of efforts to shut down Pyongyang’s nuclear program.

Treasury Undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence Sigal Mandelker said she told Hong Kong officials it should be harder for North Korea to use shell companies registered in the Asian business hub.

Mandelker said she also repeatedly pressed officials in Beijing to expel sanctioned North Koreans in China who facilitate North Korean financial transactions.

Despite various hurdles, she said three increasingly stringent U.N. Security Council resolutions last year on North Korea were having a “significant impact.” She did not give any details.

The U.S. and international sanctions are aimed at depriving North Korea of revenue for its nuclear weapons program and otherwise exerting pressure on the government in Pyongyang.

South Korea’s recent seizure of two ships suspected of being used for illegal oil sales to North Korea revealed a murky web of shell companies listed as their owners or managers, including some registered in Hong Kong.

The former British colony often tops the business and economic freedom rankings, based on criteria that includes ease of setting up business. But that can also facilitate illicit dealings.

Mandelker said she had discussions with officials including those at Hong Kong’s Financial Services and Treasury Bureau about tightening up company formation and corporate registration rules.

“This shouldn’t be a place where companies can establish themselves to help in the smuggling and ship-to-ship transfers,” she said. AP