Thread by @DawsonSField

From 2009-2019 one of the largest tobacco companies in the world used their Singapore subsidiary to sell tobacco to North Korea in violation of sanctions & launder the proceeds of the sales.
Plead guilty & agreed to cooperate with the feds.

#ButNothingsHappening

https://twitter.com/USAO_DC/status/1650930640605290497

3 individuals involved have also been indicted but have not yet been captured. One is a North Korean banker & the other 2 are Chinese facilitators.

Part of a larger scheme of tobacco related corruption used by the North Korean government to fund other activities including their nuclear weapons program.

I'm guessing DOJ now has the #receipts...

The US Treasury Dept also filed a civil cse settlement for $508M against British American Tobacco for violating North Korea's WMD sanctions.

ofac.treasury.gov/media/931666/d…

BAT executives in London approved the set up of the shell company to evade sanctions on North Korean sales. Though it happened in 2007, the conspiracy continued through at least 2019 so statutes of limitations would be valid for prosecution.

They laundered NK money though at least 12 US banks.
The products included "Kit Sets" which were used to manufacture counterfeit US cigarettes for NK to sell on the globabl black market for profit.
In Dec. 2016 BAT decided to stop selling to NK & to end business by May 2017.

But their Singapore division continued doing business with NK until Sept 2017.

British American Tobacco were very bad...

But they quickly flipped & cooperated.