After admitting to providing cigarettes to North Korea in breach of sanctions through a subsidiary, British American Tobacco was ordered to pay $635 million (£512 million) plus interest to US authorities.
The payment, according to US authorities, was connected to BAT activities in North Korea between 2007 and 2017.
Jack Bowles, the CEO of BAT, said, “We deeply regret the misconduct.”
As a result of North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, the US has slapped harsh sanctions on the country.
BAT and the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control reached a settlement on Tuesday.
BAT and the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control reached a settlement on Tuesday.
One of the top 10 largest firms in the UK and one of the biggest tobacco giants in the world is BAT. Major cigarette brands owned by this company include Lucky Strike, Dunhill, and Pall Mall.
BAT announced in a statement that it had “entered into plea agreements with the DOJ, a civil settlement agreement with OFAC, and a deferred prosecution agreement with the DOJ with an indirect BAT subsidiary in Singapore.”
According to the DOJ, BAT also planned to trick financial institutions into processing transactions on behalf of North Korean businesses by defrauding them.