What exactly is happening with Sawiris and North Korea? An official from Orascom Telecom Media and Technology Holding (OTMT) denied that the company is withdrawing from North Korea. Statements from the official, who spoke to Youm7 on condition of anonymity, follows a report from the Korea Times suggesting that Sawiris was backing out of his investment in the Koryolink 3G network due to mounting pressure from the UN and US over his business ties there. The report noted that OTMT had halted its services there early last month, citing Japanese intelligence sources. The OTMT official added that Koryolink services civilians in North Korea and as such it does not violate international law. Furthermore, he noted that the company had stopped including Koryolink in its consolidated financial statements, adding that OTMT considers it a “sister corporation” rather than a subsidiary. As recently as September, Chairman Naguib Sawiris was saying he has no plans to divest from North Korea, even though OTMT effectively lost control of its subsidiary there Koryolink in late 2015.

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