PRC Freezes North Korean Accounts, Citing Counterfeiting and Money Laundering

On July 25, 2006, media sources reported that the Bank of China’s Macao branch has closed a number of accounts containing millions of dollars linked to the North Korean government. The account freezes follow the U.S. imposition of sanctions against North Korea due to the country’s alleged involvement in large scale counterfeiting of U.S. currency and money laundering.