asia times
Peter J. Brown September 24, 2018 6:40 PM (UTC+8)
[excerpt]
http://www.atimes.com/article/north-korea-succesfully-using-cryptos-to-evade-us-sanctions/North Korea is increasingly using crypto-currencies to successfully circumvent US sanctions, according to two Washington-based experts.Lourdes Miranda, an independent financial intelligence analyst and a financial crimes investigator who specializes in intelligence collection and analysis, and Ross Delston, an independent Washington-based attorney and expert witness who specializes in anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) compliance matters, said it was also likely that Pyongyang was both trading with established crypto-currencies and also creating its own.
“International criminals everywhere prefer crypto-currencies and the DPRK is no exception. Crypto-currencies have the added advantage to the DPRK of giving them more ways to circumvent US sanctions. They can do so by using multiple international exchangers, mixing and shifting services – mirroring the money laundering cycle – to exploit international financial institutions that have correspondent banking relationships with the United States,†the pair said in a joint written response to Asia Times questions.
