(Singapore) A Singaporean businessman wanted by the United States for violating North Korea sanctions is currently in Singapore where he is being investigated, city police said on Saturday- State.
Posted at 9:26 p.m.
Police in the small Asian country said in their statement that they had sought clarification from their American counterpart about the award and had kept them informed of the ongoing investigation by local authorities.
“Mr. Kwek is currently in Singapore,” she said in the statement.
The US State Department promised $5 million on Thursday for information on businessman Kwek Kee Seng, accusing him of numerous fuel deliveries to North Korea, boat transfers, as well as money laundering. money through front companies.
Federal prosecutors in New York issued an arrest warrant for Mr. Kwek in 2021, a year after one of his tankers, the M/T Courageouswas seized by Cambodia at the request of the United States for alleged sanctions violations.
Mr Kwek, 62, owns Singapore-based shipping company Swanseas Port Services.
He has been under investigation since last April by the Department of Business Affairs — the city’s white-collar crime investigation agency — and his passport has been confiscated.
Singapore police said the investigation was launched after the US Department of Justice announced it had filed a complaint against Mr Kwek for “alleged conspiracy to evade economic sanctions” against South Korea. North and for money laundering.
Police added that they had shared information with US police.
The United States urges strict application of United Nations sanctions against North Korea, amid renewed tensions between the two Koreas.