NK set up paper company in tax haven: S. Korean journalists' group

A North Korean ran a shell company in a tax haven region, an independent South Korean online news outlet said Thursday in its latest revelation of a list that included three paper companies believed to be linked with Pyongyang.

It is the first time that the Korea Center for Investigative Journalism (KCIJ) has released the name of a North Korean. Since May, the center has revealed 18 high-profile South Koreans out of 245 South Koreans who had set up ghost companies in tax haven regions.

Mun Kwang-nam was registered as one of two directors of Larivader Solutions Inc. set up in the British Virgin Islands on Nov. 19, 2004, the KCIJ said on its website.

Mun's address was registered as "2 Kin Mal Dong, Mao Lang Bong District Pyong Yang Republic of Korea," the non-profit news organization said, citing its analysis of documents obtained from Commonwealth Trust Ltd., which helps people establish paper companies in safe havens.

The online news outlet said Valentine Kharitonova was registered as another director and a shareholder of Larivader Solutions, which it said existed at least until October 2009.

The non-profit organization set up by former journalists did not give any further details on Mun and Kharitonova.

The findings are based on a joint investigative journalism project by the KCIJ and the Washington-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), in which the KCIJ has taken part since April.

It was not immediately clear whether Mun and his paper company worked for the North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, who was believed to have slush funds overseas. Kim died in 2011 and was succeeded by his youngest son, Kim Jong-un.

KCIJ also said it has found three shell companies in the British Virgin Islands that are presumed to be linked with North Korea, citing its analysis of documents obtained from Singapore-based Portcullis TrustNet, another company that helps people establish shell companies in safe havens.

KCIJ identified the three paper companies as Chollima Ltd., Chosun Ltd. and Koryo Telecom Ltd.

Lim Jong-ju and Wong Yuk Kwan were both registered as directors of all three paper companies set up between 2000 and 2001, KCIJ said.

It said the two are presumed to be investors involved in the telecommunication business in North Korea, noting the names of the three companies are related to North Korea.

It was not clear whether they are linked to Orascom Telecom, an Egyptian firm that provides third-generation wireless service covering 15 major North Korean cities, including Pyongyang.

The non-profit news organization said Lim does not appear to be a North Korean, though it did not give any further details.