ALBAWABA - British American Tobacco (BAT) agreed to pay $635 million to authorities in the United States for selling cigarettes to North Korea despite U.S. sanctions.
According to reports, BAT violated sanctions but agreed to pay a fine to finalize the settlement regarding its activity in North Korea between 2007 and 2017.
? British American #Tobacco has agreed to pay more than $629 million to settle charges it sold #cigarette materials to #NorthKorea ?? for years in violation of US sanctions
— FRANCE 24 English (@France24_en) April 26, 2023
??? The fine is the biggest ever issued in US Justice Department history, as @lizaKaminov explains ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/88ez6bNpGo
The head of the company, Jack Bowles, said regarding the settlement between BAT and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control: "We deeply regret the misconduct".
The company shared a statement and confirmed it had entered into a "deferred prosecution agreement with DOJ and a civil settlement agreement with OFAC, and an indirect BAT subsidiary in Singapore has entered into a plea agreement with DOJ."
BBC reported that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is known to be a heavy smoker. Last year the U.S. called for a tobacco export ban to North Korea at the United Nations Security Council. However, it failed.
Attorney General Matthew Olsen said the $635 million settlement was the "culmination of a long-running investigation."
Olsen confirmed that the violation is "the single largest North Korean sanctions penalty in the history of the Department of Justice".
British American Tobacco has agreed to pay more than $635 million as a penalty for selling cigarettes to North Korea through an intermediary in Singapore, violating U.S. sanctions. https://t.co/hdbPhYPLjY
— New York Times World (@nytimesworld) April 26, 2023
Olsen maintained: "Between 2007 and 2017 these third-party companies sold tobacco products to North Korea and received approximately $428m."
Multiple sanctions were imposed by the U.S. government on North Korea over its nuclear and ballistic missile activities.
About British American Tobacco
British American Tobacco (BAT), founded in 1902, is the world's most international tobacco group, operating in more countries than any other. It is also one of the United Kingdom's 10 biggest companies.
BAT owns major cigarette brands including Lucky Strike, Dunhill and Pall Mall.
