Chinese man held in Australia over N. Korea scheme faces extradition

A Chinese man arrested in Australia is awaiting extradition to the United States for alleged involvement in a North Korean scheme to generate revenue by selling counterfeit cigarettes, Australian authorities said yesterday.

Jin Guanghua was arrested in Victoria state last March in response to a request from the US and remains in custody, Australia’s Attorney-General’s Department said.

“The individual is wanted to face prosecution in the United States for a number of sanctions, bank fraud, money laundering and conspiracy offences,” said a spokesman for the department.

The extradition warrant and Jin’s arrest was first reported by The Guardian on Tuesday.

A US indictment unsealed last year alleges Jin, a Chinese citizen, committed bank fraud in an illegal scheme by North Korea to generate revenue through the purchase and sale of tobacco.

To avoid United Nations sanctions, North Korean banks used front companies, according to the indictment.

Jin was among three Chinese nationals acting as middlemen, purchasing tobacco for companies owned by North Korea’s military and government, and used to manufacture counterfeit cigarettes to generate hard currency, the FBI alleged.

North Korea is one of the largest producers globally of contraband cigarettes, including fake Western and Japanese brands, that are sold in Asia, the indictment said.

The raw tobacco was purchased from international suppliers and shipped to Dalian, China, then smuggled to North Korea, it said.

Jin was involved in the scheme between 2009 and 2019, the indictment said.

A Victorian magistrates court spokeswoman yesterday said a warrant for Jin was executed in court in August, and he was returned to the Metropolitan Remand Centre to await extradition.

Jin remains in custody “pursuant to the United States’ request for his extradition to face criminal charges in the United States”, the Attorney-General’s Department said.