The E-Sylum:  Volume 8, Number 48, November 13, 2005, Article 16

IRA-KOREAN COUNTERFEITING SCAM DETAILED

“Daily Ireland today reveals the full extent of
the Official IRA counterfeit dollar scam of the
late 1980s and early ’90s.

We can further disclose details of the sophisticated
operation carried out by experienced Official IRA
volunteers to offload the counterfeit $100 bills for
genuine currency in a blitz on financial institutions
the length and breadth of Ireland.”

“The story began in 1988 when a number of senior
Official IRA men — including a man known as “the Devil”,
a Belfast businessman and a veteran paramilitary from
the Republic — visited North Korea to attend celebrations
to mark the 40th anniversary of the formation of the state.

They travelled first to the North Korean embassy in
Moscow, where officials arranged for them to get into
North Korea without the travel documents that are
usually required. The three men stayed in a guarded
compound in the capital Pyongyang for two weeks.

While there, they met then president Kim Il-sung and
his son Kim Jong-il, who became ruler of North Korea
and chairman of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea
after his father’s death.

President Kim and his son promised the Official IRA
team whatever help they needed to carry out the
“Irish revolution” to which the Irishmen told the
North Koreans they were committed.

The Official IRA men were shown huge amounts of
weapons and ammunition and the high-quality counterfeit
US dollars that the North Koreans were churning out
on state-of-the-art printing presses.

In 1989, the Official IRA collected its first
consignment of US$1 million in cash from the North
Koreans. The money was moved to the North Korean
embassy in Moscow before being transferred to a
popular holiday destination in eastern Europe to
await collection.”

To read the full story, see: Full Story

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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