U.S. imposes sanctions on Singapore man accused of laundering money

SEOUL, Oct. 26 (UPI) -- The U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on a Singaporean man and his company, accused of laundering money for North Korea.

The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control said Thursday that Tan Wee Beng had concealed origins of payment and structured transactions to fulfill millions of dollars in commodities contracts for North Korea since at least 2011.

He even hand-delivered a bulk of cash to a North Korean when a wire payment was rejected to avoid leaving traces of financial transactions, according to the Treasury.

"Tan Wee Beng and his co-conspirators made deliberate efforts to launder money through the U.S. financial system on behalf of North Korea," said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, in a statement Thursday.

The U.S. government said the man and the marine company he operates engaged in money laundering, counterfeiting of goods or currency, bulk cash smuggling and narcotics trafficking to support the North Korean government or senior officials.

The Treasury Department also designated two vessels in the sanctions, which they said engage in illicit economic activities.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation issued an arrest warrant for Tan Wee Beng in August.