Next Target: Kim Jong Il’s Swiss Accounts?

The Swiss are bristling at the suggestion, but they’re not saying “no,” either:

“Money of criminal origin is not protected by Swiss bank secrecy laws,” he said flatly. He pointed out that Switzerland is the only country to have returned money to countries such as Peru, where funds related to former President Alberto Fujimori were returned; or Nigeria, where money linked to the military strongman General Sani Abacha was repatriated.

The U.S. envoy to the six-party talks on North Korean nuclear issues, Christopher Hill, has alluded to $4 billion in funds in Swiss banks allegedly belonging to North Korea’s dictator, Kim Jong-il. Mr. Hauswirth said he was not familiar with any U.S. request for Swiss help in that matter.

Pyongyang, however, said it has indeed asked the Swiss for help. About two weeks ago, the North asked Swiss authorities to look into those U.S. claims and to make its findings public.
Quoting Kim Chung-guk, the director-general of the European affairs bureau at the North’s Foreign Ministry, China’s Xinhua news agency reported that the Swiss had responded that nothing could be done without some evidence of wrongdoing connected to the account.

Estimates of the amounts run into the billions. The North Koreans are clearly worried. For you readers in the Treasury Department (I’m serious), don’t forget to check Luxembourg. Another interesting question this raises: are Swiss watches a neat new way to launder money?
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