Malaysian court approves US bid to extradite North Korean

 A Malaysian court Friday approved the extradition of a North Korean man to the U.S. to face money laundering charges in a case he says is politically motivated. Defence lawyer Jagjit Singh said Mun Chol Myong, 54, was shocked by the ruling and will appeal to the High Court.

Mun has lived in Malaysia for a decade and was arrested in May after U.S. authorities requested his extradition. Malaysia’s government approved it but Mun filed a legal challenge. Singh has said his extradition would likely be the first of a North Korean to the U.S. for money laundering.

In his affidavit, Mun rejected allegations by the FBI that he was the “leader of an international organized criminal group involved in laundering proceeds of bank fraud” from April 2013 to November 2018.

Mun denied he laundered funds through front companies and issued fraudulent documents to support illicit shipments to his country in violation of U.N. sanctions. He said he was the victim of a “politically motivated” extradition request aimed at pressuring North Korea over its missile program.

Jagjit said the appeal could take 2-3 months and that the High Court’s decision will be final.