Chinese man extradited to U.S. over N. Korea's illicit counterfeit tobacco business

Oct. 1 (UPI) -- A Chinese national was extradited from Australia to the United States this week to face charges related to North Korea's illicit counterfeit cigarette enterprise that funds the rogue state's nuclear and weapons of mass destruction programs.

Jin Guanghua, 53, was accused in a 2022 indictment of erecting front companies in Dubai and elsewhere so tobacco companies owned by the North Korean military could purchase bulk tobacco in U.S. dollars through the U.S. financial system, in violation of U.S. sanctions.

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