US Treasury Fines UAE Company $800,000 for Tobacco Filter Sales to North Korea as 'Sanctions Violation'

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] A tobacco filter sales company in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been fined several hundred million won for violating U.S. sanctions against North Korea, the Washington Post (WP) reported on the 16th (local time).

According to the report, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced on its website that it had agreed to receive $665,000 (approximately 800 million won) from the UAE tobacco company Essentra FZE. WP explained that this is the first time a company has been sanctioned under the U.S. North Korea Sanctions Regulations (NKSR) for violating these rules.

Essentra FZE is a UAE subsidiary of the British consumer goods company Essentra. The company exported tobacco filters to third-country companies including those in China, as well as to shell companies established by North Korean nationals, so-called ghost companies. It is reported that Essentra FZE employees were aware of these facts, and phone call records with the North Korean shell companies were also obtained.

The shell company requested, "Do not mention my nationality (North Korea), but say China or other countries. The contract is with a third-country company," and an Essentra FZE employee agreed, saying "Understood." The contract specified "China" as the export destination. WP reported that Essentra FZE admitted to violating North Korea sanctions and issued warnings to two employees involved. These employees have since resigned.

The sales amount was about $333,000, and Essentra FZE received three remittances through the Dubai branch of a U.S. bank from September to December 2018. The U.S. Department of the Treasury also prohibits the export of alcohol, tobacco, and tobacco-related products to North Korea. The "fake cigarettes" produced in North Korea are also identified as a means to generate slush funds for the regime's leadership.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.