Sold cigarettes to North Korea, fined 52 thousand crores

The United States has imposed a fine of Rs 52,000 crore on a UK company for selling cigarettes to North Korea. A subsidiary of the British American Tobacco Company (BAT), one of the world's largest tobacco companies, has admitted to selling cigarettes to dictator Kim's country. This deal was done between 2007 and 2017.
The US Department of Justice reported that BAT had also committed several financial scams to sell cigarettes to North Korean entities. Between 2007 and 2017, BAT sold tobacco products worth about Rs 35,000 crore to North Korea through subsidiaries in violation of US sanctions.
Meanwhile, criminal charges have also been filed against North Korean banker Sim Hyon-sop, and Chinese assistants Qin Guoming and Han Linlin involved in the sale. However, all three accused are currently absconding.
A reward of Rs 40 crore has been announced on the banker sim by the Justice Department of America. A reward of Rs 4-4 crore has been declared for the remaining two accused. All three are accused of creating several forged documents to supply leaf tobacco to North Korean cigarette companies. Through them, he got a transaction of Rs 600 crore processed from American banks. Due to this, the companies of North Korea benefited about 57 thousand crore rupees.
North Korean leader Kim Jong smokes a lot. In May last year, the US asked the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to ban tobacco exports to North Korea. However, Russia and China vetoed it.
In 2019, a report by BAT company revealed that the company is operating in many countries that are banned. These include Iran and Cuba. It was said in the report that the company may have to bear heavy losses due to this. Company CEO Jack Bowles said- We are sorry that the company was involved in cases where sanctions are in place. It lowers the standard and credibility of the company.
The British American Tobacco Company is the second largest tobacco company in the world. It is one of the 10 largest companies in Britain. The company sells cigarettes, tobacco and other nicotine products. It owns leading cigarette brands including Lucky Strike, Dunhill and Pall Mall. The headquarters of this company is in London and it has around 80 thousand employees worldwide. According to Statista, in 2022 the company generated a revenue of around Rs 2.8 lakh crore.