(S) DPRK PROLIFERATION-RELATED TRANSACTION IN

S E C R E T STATE 036855

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/13/2019
TAGS: EFIN ETTC KNNP IR PREL PARM XF LE KN SN
SUBJECT: (S) DPRK PROLIFERATION-RELATED TRANSACTION IN
SINGAPORE

Classified By: EAP A/S Christopher R. Hill,
for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (U) This is an action request. Please see paragraph 3.

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SUMMARY/BACKGROUND
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2. (S) On April 14, Treasury U/S Stuart Levey and ISN Acting
DAS Tony Foley met with Singapore DCM Ong to deliver the
points in paragraph 4. Under separate cover, Singapore Desk
Officer Mary-Gardner Coppola sent PolCouns a readout of this
meeting.

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OBJECTIVES/ACTION REQUEST
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3. (S) Washington requests Post pass the attached nonpaper in
paragraph 4 to appropriate government officials and pursue
the following objectives:

-- Follow-up with GOS in Singapore regarding the imminent
travel of Alex Tsai to Singapore to receive a substantial
cash payment from a North Korean individual associated with
the company responsible for North Korea's missile and
conventional weapons proliferation.

-- Reiterate that this cash transaction may violate
Singapore's anti-money laundering laws.

-- Urge GOS take all appropriate legal measures to prevent
this transaction from occurring

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BACKGROUND AND NONPAPER
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4. BEGIN SECRET//REL SINGAPORE NON-PAPER

-- We wanted to inform you of our continuing concern
regarding the imminent travel of Taiwanese citizen Alex Tsai
to Singapore to possibly receive a substantial cash payment
from a North Korean individual associated with the company
responsible for North Korea's missile and conventional
weapons proliferation.

-- On April 14 Treasury U/S Stuart Levey informed the
Singaporean Charge d'Affaires in Washington of this matter.

-- In his meeting with the Singaporean Charge d'Affaires, U/S
Levey noted the information we passed to ISD last week,
summarized below, and conveyed our continuing concerns
regarding this issue. Your Charge pledged to pass this
information to your government and we would like to provide
it to you directly.

-- The transaction may involve a potential violation of
Singapore's anti-money laundering law.

-- There is a potential for Singapore territory to be used to
conduct proliferation-related transactions.

-- We recently learned that either on 15 or 16 April,
Taipei-based businessman Alex H.T. Tsai will travel to
Singapore to meet with a Korea Mining Development Trading
Corporation (KOMID) representative in the region.

-- We have information that Alex Tsai will receive payment
from the KOMID representative at the Singapore airport
possibly for the shipment of probably double-action hydraulic
drawing press equipment.

-- The hydraulic drawing press equipment was worth over
$850,000.

-- Tsai has been supplying goods with weapons production
capabilities to KOMID and its subordinates since the late
1990s, and has been involved in shipping items to North Korea
that could be used to support North Korea's advanced weapons
program. On June 19, 2008, Tsai was indicted by Taiwan's
Taipei District Prosecutors Office for forging shipping
invoices and illegally shipping restricted materials to North
Korea.

-- Alex Tsai was designated in January 2009 by the United
States under E.O. 13382 for providing, or attempting to
provide, financial technological or other support for, or
goods or services in support of KOMID. KOMID was also
designated under E.O. 13382 for its proliferation activities
in June 2005.

-- The following is Alex H.T. Tsai's identifying information:

Name: Alex H.T. Tsai
AKA: Hsien Tai Tsai
DOB: August 8, 1945
POB: Tainan, Taiwan
Passport Number: 131134049 (Taiwan)

-- We understand that the movement of a large sum of cash
across Singapore's borders without a cash declaration could
be a violation of Singapore's AML law.

-- We urge you to take this opportunity to use all available
legal measures to prevent this transaction from occurring.

-- If that is not possible, we would like to explore with you
further ways to prevent Singaporean territory from being used
by KOMID and Tsai to conduct their proliferation-related
business.

END SECRET//REL SINGAPORE NON-PAPER

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REPORTING DEADLINE
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5. (S) Post should report results as soon as possible given
the timing of the planned transaction. Please slug replies
for ISN, T, EAP, and TREASURY. Please use the caption SIPDIS
in all replies.

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POINT OF CONTACT
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6. (U) Washington point of contact for follow-up information
is, Rob Gile, (gilers@state.sgov.gov) ISN/CPI, (202) 647-0186.


7. (U) Department thanks Post for its assistance.
CLINTON