Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


Alleged North Korean Sanctions Violations in DRC Draw Scrutiny

Salem Solomon

   WASHINGTON - Business and banking dealings by North Koreans in the
   Democratic Republic of the Congo appear to violate numerous
   international sanctions, according to watchdog groups who say Pyongyang
   is taking advantage of the DRC's lax bank system.
   A [1]report in August by Sentry, a Washington D.C.-based organization
   that tracks money which finances conflict in Africa found that in 2018
   two North Korean businessmen traveled to the DRC on non-commercial
   visas, set up a construction firm, opened a bank account and were
   awarded contracts for numerous projects including building
   government-funded statues.
   Investigators say the report shows that North Korea is seeking out
   parts of the world where it can operate secretly and obtain foreign
   currency otherwise unavailable to the secretive and
   internationally-isolated government.
   "All of these different steps are important because that entire process
   is littered with a number of violations of U.N., E.U. and U.S.
   sanctions," John Dell'Osso, senior investigator for Sentry told VOA.
   "And those sanctions specifically focus on preventing just the kind of
   activity we wrote about which is North Koreans setting up businesses,
   which would give them an opportunity to generate revenue and then
   allowing them to set up bank accounts that would enable them to
   transact in foreign currencies which are critical to the government in
   Pyongyang."
   Jean-Louis Kayembe wa Kayembe, director general at the DRC central bank
   and head of the monetary policy committee, declined comment when
   contacted by VOA. North Korean officials have not commented on the
   Sentry allegations or business dealings in the DRC.
   The Sentry report says that upon arrival in the DRC, the men - Pak Hwa
   Song and Hwang Kil Su - established relationships with elected
   officials from the People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy, the
   former ruling party headed by ex-president Joseph Kabila.
   Among the projects undertaken by the North Koreans was building a
   statue of Kabila's father, ex-president Laurent Kabila in the southern
   city of Kamina. Another statute they built in the city depicts a leader
   from the Luba ethnic group.

References

   1. https://cdn.thesentry.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/OvertAffairs-TheSentry-August2020.pdf

.