March 19, 2019
Cameron Trainer
Also read part 2 of this series:
Judge Juche 2: North Korean Misadventures in Uganda
The following is an excerpt published by NKnews.org.
This article is the first of a series…we’ve chosen to focus on the legal (mis)adventures of North Korean entities and individuals overseas.
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One of the strategies North Korea employs to circumvent sanctions is the use of bulk cash transfers. The UN Panel of Experts established pursuant to resolution 1874 (2009), which is tasked with assessing the implementation of UN sanctions on North Korea, has documented North Korean bulk cash transfers in its reports.
The UN Security Council has also drawn particular attention to this issue in resolutions 2087 (2013) and 2321 (2016), formally alerting Member States to the use of bulk cash transfers to circumvent sanctions.
It in this context that the activities of North Korean nationals caught or accused of bulk cash smuggling take on additional significance. Russian authorities have caught several such individuals, and the way Russia has handled their prosecutions sheds light on the country’s implementation of the UN sanctions regime.
In Russia, undeclared cash transfers like those the Panel describes in its reports are criminalized under Article 200.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which covers the undeclared import or export of currency valued over $10,000.
A review of cases filed in relation to Article 200.1 and accessed via the online portal found three instances of attempted bulk cash transfers that merit particular attention.
The stories of the three DPRK nationals involved—as told through successive court filings—offer a unique view into how Russia handles cases of potential relevance to sanctions on North Korea.
Continue reading at the NKnews.org.
