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US Treasury Secretary in Vietnam: Subject - North Korea

APEC finance ministers to discuss money laundering in Hanoi.

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Finance ministers from the Asia-Pacific region will meet next week in Hanoi for talks partly dedicated to the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing, officials said.

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Vietnam is investigating US claims that North Korea opened bank accounts in the country to launder illegally gained funds. The State Bank of Vietnam has ordered commercial banks to check for illegal accounts or illegal transactions by North Korea.

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Last month Stuart Levey, the US Treasury Department's Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, visited Vietnam, South Korea, Japan and Singapore to discuss the issue.

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US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is expected to attend the meeting in Hanoi. Misuse of financial systems, terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction "are logical subjects for him to address," Marine said.

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Vietnam is a largely cash based society, but that is changing due to the forces of globalization. Cash economies and poorly regulated banks are an ideal platform for "state based" money laundering purposes.

Think of it this way, if logisitics is what drives a traditional army, then money laundering is what drives the forces of guerilla terrorism.

Posted @ August 30, 2006 10:05 AM | Current Affairs