The bank told the U.S. Department of Treasury that its accusations “lacked specific facts” and they were motivated by politics, the bank said in a statement.

The U.S. announced last month the bank would be blacklisted and blocked from doing business with American banks, a potentially crippling blow to most lenders. The move came after American investigators accused the bank of helping North Korea launder money and handle counterfeit currency.

Macau’s Monetary Authority took control of the bank and froze about US$25 million in North Korean funds. That enraged the North Koreans, who for more than a year boycotted the six-nation talks that aim to disarm the North’s nuclear program.

The bank has repeatedly denied knowingly helping in North Korea’s alleged illicit activities. It said it was a family-owned lender that lacked the sophisticated equipment and procedures to combat money laundering and counterfeiting.

Late Monday night, the bank issued a statement that said the U.S. ignored all the remedial measures taken by the bank. It also said the move “was politically motivated since it was based on disputes between the United States and North Korea.”

Joseph T. McLaughlin, managing partner of the law firm Heller Ehrman, which is representing the bank, said in the statement, “With this filing, the bank seeks a fair hearing on all the evidence, free from political intervention and the distraction of public diplomacy.”

In February, a deal was reached in the six-party nuclear talks involving North and South Korea, China, Japan, Russia and the U.S.

The North was to receive 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil to be donated by the South in return for shuttering its reactor. The money frozen in Macau was also to be returned.

North Korea was supposed to shut down its nuclear reactor last Saturday, but the deadline passed because of a delay in releasing the funds in Macau. The bank and Macau officials have declined to explain why the money hasn’t been released. Many believe it’s because other banks don’t want to deal with the tainted funds.

The North has said it won’t take steps to disarm until all the funds are released.

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