Singapore subsidiary of British tobacco giant admits selling products to North Korea, violating US sanctions

BAT Marketing Singapore, a subsidiary of British American Tobacco, pleaded guilty to charges of conspiring to violate sanctions and commit bank fraud

Its parent company has now agreed to pay more than US$635 million to US authorities – touted as the ‘single largest North Korea sanctions penalty’

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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is known as a chain smoker and is frequently seen with a cigarette in hand in photographs in state media. Photo: Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP

Published: 12:02pm, 26 Apr 2023Updated: 1:00pm, 26 Apr 2023

British American Tobacco Plc has agreed to pay more than US$635 million to US authorities after a Singapore subsidiary pleaded guilty to charges that it conspired to violate sanctions by selling tobacco products to North Korea and commit bank fraud.

The tobacco sales at the heart of Tuesday’s settlement took place from 2007 to 2017 to the isolated communist nation, according to both the company and the US Justice Department. North Korea faces an array of US sanctions to choke off funding for its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.

“This case and others like it do serve as a warning shot to companies,” Matthew Olsen, assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, told a news conference.

The case represents the “single largest North Korea sanctions penalty” in Justice Department history, he said.

British American Tobacco Plc, or BAT, is the world’s second-biggest tobacco group. Photo: Reuters

BAT, the world’s second-biggest tobacco group, makes Lucky Strike and Dunhill cigarettes.