National Basketball Association

Report: Rodman investigated for alleged North Korea gifts

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 6:36 p.m. ET

foxsports

Dennis Rodman's friendship with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un has the former NBA All-Star in trouble with the law.

Rodman, who checked into rehab last week to combat his alcoholism, is under investigation by the U.S. Treasury Department for allegedly presenting Kim with more than $10,000 in luxury gifts during his most recent trip to Pyongyang, according to The Daily Beast.

These gifts reportedly included "hundreds of dollars' worth of Irish Jameson whiskey, European crystal, an Italian suit, a fur coat and an English Mulberry handbag for Kim's wife, Ri Sol-ju, as well as several bottles of Rodman's own 'Bad Ass Vodka.'"

United Nations Security Council resolutions 1718 and 2094 prohibit the importing and exporting of luxury goods to and from North Korea, and Rodman's alleged gifts — birthday presents for the dictator, who turned 31 earlier this month — clearly would violate those regulations.

"The sanctions law is very clear about luxury goods," David Asher, a former State Department coordinator for North Korea, told The Daily Beast. "It does look to me that there is a potential violation here, and, if true, it's a sanctionable offense."

In other words, things might soon be getting a lot worse for the Worm.