N.Y. nonprofit under investigation for tax evasion, North Korea activities
The nonprofit Korean American National Coordinating Council has provided support to U.S. citizens for travel to Pyongyang.
NEW YORK, Aug. 13 (UPI) — A Korean American organization that previously has helped Americans travel to North Korea is under investigation for tax evasion and political activities that violate U.S. tax laws.
The nonprofit Korean American National Coordinating Council in New York is under investigation according to local Korean American and diplomatic sources, but it was unclear which government agency was conducting the full-scale investigation, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported.
The investigation also is the first reported case of a probe into a group that previously has expressed views sympathetic to the Pyongyang regime.
Investigators arrived on Thursday at the office of KANCC in the Interchurch Center building near Columbia University to begin their query, South Korean television network SBS reported.
A New York-based diplomat who spoke to Yonhap on the condition of anonymity said the organization was under investigation because of an alleged violation – and that U.S. investigators were probing other organizations that have expressed pro-Pyongyang sentiments.
The investigation was launched to determine whether KANCC was committing tax evasion or was in violation of tax laws by taking part in banned political activities; Pyongyang and Washington do not have diplomatic ties.
The nonprofit group has provided support to U.S. citizens for travel to Pyongyang and the group’s website features editorials and articles that at times sympathize with Pyongyang’s position on peninsular affairs.
Investigators also are looking into whether members of KANCC visited the North Korean mission to the U.N. on the first anniversary of Kim Jong Il’s death in 2012 to deliver condolences, and whether they attempted to make contact with North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Su Yong’s team when Ri visited the United States last September, according to sources.
