637 Choa Chu Kang North 6, #04-243, 680637, Singapore
Reg. ID
K1437696A, Passport;
S1380562H, Identification Number
Official reason
Kwek Kee Seng is a Singaporean national and director and shareholder of Swanseas Port Services (S) Pte Ltd, a Singapore-based shipping agency and terminal operations company. He has conspired to do business with, and provide sanctioned services to, North Korea, enabling the DPRK’s nuclear proliferation programs.
Since early 2019, Kwek has assisted and directed numerous petroleum product shipments to North Korea and ship-to-ship transfers of oil to North Korean vessels, providing a critical resource for North Korea-based companies and for the North Korean government. He conspired to launder money through the U.S. financial system by funneling U.S. dollars through front companies to conceal payment origins, and structuring transactions to avoid scrutiny and evade sanctions.
On April 23, 2021, Kwek Kee Seng was charged by the U.S. authorities with conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and conspiracy to commit international money laundering. Kwek Kee Seng closely coordinated STS transfers from the Courageous to the DPRK vessels and supervised the vessel during a delivery to the DPRK. Chen Shih Huan, a business associate of Kwek Kee Seng, also assisted in the coordination of these deliveries, including payment of the Courageous crew’s salaries.
As a result, Kwek Kee Seng and Chen Shih Huan are being designated pursuant to E.O. 13810 for having engaged in at least one significant importation from or exportation to the DPRK of any goods, services, or technology. Additionally, OFAC designated Singapore-registered Anfasar Trading (S) Pte. Ltd. and Singapore registered Swanseas Port Services Pte. Ltd. for being owned or controlled by, or for having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, Kwek Kee Seng, a person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to E.O. 13810.
Today’s actions build upon other U.S. government actions against Kwek Kee Seng and the Courageous. In April 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced the filing of a criminal complaint charging Kwek Kee Seng with conspiring to evade economic sanctions on the DPRK and conspiring to launder money. In addition to the criminal charges against Kwek Kee Seng, a civil forfeiture complaint was filed against the Courageous. In July 2021, a judgment was issued that forfeited the Courageous to the United States. Kwek Kee Seng is currently wanted by the FBI. If you have any information concerning Kwek Kee Seng, please contact your local FBI office or the nearest American Embassy or Consulate.
• https://ofac.treasury.gov/faqs/topic/1556
460. Can U.S. persons do business with entities in North Korea?
No. Unless authorized pursuant to a general or specific license from OFAC and/or BIS, Executive Order (E.O.) 13722 prohibits new investment in North Korea by a U.S. person and the exportation or reexportation, from the United States, or by a U.S. person, of any goods, services, or technology to North Korea. E.O. 13810 (“Imposing Additional Sanctions with Respect to North Korea”) does not modify any of those prohibitions.
Official Information
The United States imposed a near total economic embargo on the DPRK in 1950 after the DPRK attacked the South, sparking the Korean war. Over the following years, some U.S. sanctions were eased, but others were imposed. Executive Order 13810 was issued on September 21, 2017, in the wake of the DPRK’s September 2017 nuclear test and multiple intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) tests. Combined with previous executive orders, statutory sanctions provisions, and other restrictions on the DPRK, these constitute some of the most restrictive sanctions related to the DPRK to date.
