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A Department of Justice (DoJ) statement said the tanker M/T Courageous was seized by Cambodian authorities in March 2020 in accordance with a US warrant. The ship has been used to transfer oil products to North Korean ships and to make direct shipments to the North Korean port of Nampo.
“Criminal charges of conspiracy to evade economic sanctions against the DPRK and conspiracy to launder money are pending for the alleged owner and operator of Courageous, Kwek Kee Seng, a Singaporean citizen who is still at large,” the DOJ said, using the acronym for North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, as quoted by Reuters. from Reuters, Saturday (31/7/2021).
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The statement did not say why charges against Kwek had not been filed more than a year after the vessel was seized, but added that a New York federal court had entered a seizure decision regarding the vessel on Friday.
North Korea is the subject of UN and other international sanctions over its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs. The sanctions limit imports of oil and other goods.
The DoJ statement alleged that during the four-month period between August and December 2019, M/T Courageous illegally stopped transmitting its location information and during this time satellite imagery showed that it transferred more than $1.5 million worth of oil to the North Korean ship, the Saebyol.
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The statement said payments to buy Courageous and oil were made in US dollars through US banks without realizing it, in violation of US law and UN resolutions.
“Kwek and his co-conspirators overseas attempted to conceal this sanction evasion transaction by, among other things, using the front company to disguise the nature of the transaction,” the DOJ said.
The statement did not mention the co-conspirators of Kwek Kee Seng.
North Korea has rejected US calls to resume negotiations over its weapons program and has long sought to lift sanctions that have crippled its economy.
Also read: North Korea Closes Doors of Dialogue, US Asks for China’s Help
(ian)
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