A Macao daily reports that the North Korean funds frozen at Macao-based Banco Delta Asia bank are likely to be transferred to the Chinese special administrative region's monetary authority before going to U.S. and Russian financial institutions.

Macao Daily News said Thursday that it was necessary to use a third-party financial body because BDA, which has been blacklisted by the U.S. Treasury, cannot wire dollars directly.

Therefore, North Korea’s 25 million dollars will go through the Monetary Authority of Macao, the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and the Bank of Russia before being deposited into an account held by Pyongyang at the private Far East Commercial Bank in Russia.

The daily said that, after the U.S. government gives the go-ahead, the Macao government was highly likely to begin the process Thursday.