Supposedly this was a violation of US sanctions on Iraq. How could business between Korea and Iraq qualify as violating US sanctions?
Here's the quote from the article:
"Gouaz said he was asked to mediate the collection efforts to evade American sanctions on Iraq, which did not apply to Israelis.
He said he met initially with Baker and that the former secretary of state was involved in the collection deal."
I'm no expert on the sanctions, or even on the facts presented in this article, but I think that the actions and involvement of a U.S.-based firm and a U.S. resident (Baker - hawk, spit) to help Iraq get money (to pay its debts) was the violation. Clearly, Hyundai had a legal right to get its debt collected, so that's not an issue.