Nov. 3 (UPI) — The State Department has offered a $5 million reward for information leading to the disruption of a smuggling network that has secretly delivered petroleum products to North Korea.
The U.S. Department of State’s Rewards for Justice Program (RFJ) is seeking information leading “to the disruption of financial mechanisms of persons engaged in certain activities that support the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).”
The Department of State issued a press release on Thursday seeking information on Kwek Kee Seng, a Singaporean national whose shipping company Swanseas Port Services (S) Pte Ltd has been implicated in a scheme to circumvent United States and United Nations sanctions by shipping fuel to North Korea.
Kee Seng used the “M/T Courageous,” one of his oil tankers, for ship-to-ship transfers of petroleum products as well as for direct deliveries to North Korea, according to the release.
In October 2021, the U.S. Department of the Treasury designated Kwek Kee Seng and his company for supporting the North Korean government.
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York issued a federal arrest warrant for Kee Seng after charging him with conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and conspiracy to commit international money laundering.
