diff --git a/idea.cpp b/idea.cpp
index f13390d8..3f2c34a9 100644
--- a/idea.cpp
+++ b/idea.cpp
@@ -17,8 +17,6 @@ CRYPTOPP_COMPILE_ASSERT(sizeof(IDEA::Word) >= 2);
 // should use an inline function but macros are still faster in MSVC 4.0
 #define DirectMUL(a,b)					\
 {										\
-	CRYPTOPP_ASSERT(b <= 0xffff);				\
-										\
 	word32 p=(word32)low16(a)*b;		\
 										\
 	if (p)								\