Banco Delta Asia (BDA), a Macao-based bank, on Tuesday reiterated that charges from the United States government of its involvement in money laundering are "groundless."

 

Stanley Au, chairman of the Delta Asia Financial Group (BDA's parent company), told a press conference that the repeat of the allegation by certain US officials on Tuesday was "a lie."

 

Stuart Levey, US Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence (TFI), was the first to make the accusation that BDA had aided the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in a series of money-laundering cases.

 

Au reiterated that BDA has not been involved in any illegal business relations with DPRK banks or trading agencies.

 

He also highlighted that it is business as usual at BDA.

 

BDA, established in Macao in 1935, currently operates eight branches and four offices in the Macao Special Administrative Region, and the Delta Asia Financial Group, BDA's parent company, has subsidiaries and offices in Hong Kong, Tokyo and Zhuhai.

 

(Xinhua News Agency September 21, 2005)