The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control has reached a settlement agreement with Vietnam Beverage Company Limited–VBCL–for the latter to pay remuneration of US$860,000 for breaching US sanctions imposed on North Korea.
Specifically, two subsidiaries of the Vietnamese firm had sold alcoholic beverages to North Korean companies with invoices denominated in US dollars that had been paid through holding companies in various locations around the world using US banks.
The use of US dollars and involvement of US financial institutions led to violations of the North Korea Sanctions Regulations by causing U.S. financial institutions to export financial services to North Korea in violation of U.S. sanctions laws.
In total, between 2016 and 2018, the subsidiaries in question executed 26 contracts with North Korean entities and third-party companies, issuing 47 invoices and receiving approximately US$1,141,547 in payments. These payments came from various third-party companies located in Hong Kong, China, Turkey, Singapore, and Seychelles, making payments on behalf of North Korean entities.