PT Bukit Muria Jaya (“BMJ”), a global supplier of cigarettes, has agreed to pay a fine of more than $1.5 million and to enter into a deferred prosecution agreement with the Department of Justice (DOJ) for conspiracy to commit bank fraud in connection with the shipment of products to North Korean customers. BMJ has also entered into a settlement agreement with the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. BMJ admitted in part that it sold products to two North Korean companies and a Chinese trading company with the knowledge the products were destined for North Korea. At the time, US sanctions on North Korea prohibited correspondent banks in the United States from processing wire transfers on for customers located in North Korea. After BMJ became aware that one of its North Korean customers was having difficulty executing payments to BMJ, BMJ personnel agreed to accept payments from third parties that were otherwise unrelated to the transactions. Such third-party payments evaded sanctions compliance systems of US banks, inducing them into undertaking prohibited transactions. As part of the agreement, BMJ admitted responsibility for its criminal conduct and agreed to pay the fine. Additionally, BMJ agreed to implement an internal compliance program to mitigate the risk of such future violations.
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