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North Korea
AsiaSoutheast Asia

FBI indicts Singapore’s Tan Wee Beng, Ferrari-loving entrepreneur, for laundering North Korea funds

  • Tan Wee Beng, an award-winning executive, is on the US most-wanted list for allegedly moving money through the banking system for North Korea
  • His whereabouts are unknown, according to US authorities

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This “wanted” poster obtained from the FBI on Thursday shows Singapore businessman Tan Wee Beng, 41. Photo: Agence France-Presse
Agence France-Presse

A Singapore businessman once lauded as a leading young entrepreneur has illegally laundered millions of dollars in funds for North Korea, US prosecutors said in charges unveiled on Thursday.

A grand jury indictment charged Tan Wee Beng, 41, for working with several other unnamed actors to move money through the international banking system for North Korean banks between 2011 and 2018, violating international sanctions on North Korea.

Online profiles depict him as an award-winning young executive, and show him posing with Ferrari and McLaren sports cars.
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Separately, the US Treasury slapped sanctions on Tan and two companies he ran – Wee Tiong (S) Pte and WT Marine Pte, both of which did business with North Korea.

Tan Wee Beng (second from left) receives his Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year (Emerging) award in 2011. Photo: Ernst and Young
Tan Wee Beng (second from left) receives his Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year (Emerging) award in 2011. Photo: Ernst and Young
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Tan “conducted illicit transactions totalling millions of dollars in support of North Korean entities in blatant violation of a host of economic sanctions the United States has established against North Korea and North Korean entities,” said FBI assistant director William Sweeney in a statement.

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