Hundreds of U.S. service members, civilians and their families have launched a sweeping legal battle in federal court, accusing one of the world’s largest tobacco companies of fueling terror from behind a veil of cigarette smoke.
The British American Tobacco North Korea terrorism lawsuit seeks unspecified damages from British American Tobacco (BAT) and a subsidiary, alleging the company covertly enabled North Korea to bankroll weapons programs later used in deadly attacks against Americans.
Filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, the complaint invokes a federal law allowing victims of terrorist attacks to sue not only the alleged perpetrators, but also third parties accused of aiding, abetting or conspiring to support such acts.
Alleged Secret Venture and Sanctions Violations
BAT formed a joint venture in 2001 with a North Korean state-owned company to manufacture cigarettes inside the isolated nation. According to the lawsuit, the partnership continued quietly even after the U.S. government publicly accused North Korea of financing terrorism and imposed sanctions.
A 2005 Guardian investigation exposed the venture, revealing it persisted amid mounting geopolitical tension. In 2007, under growing international scrutiny, BAT said it was ending operations in North Korea. But the U.S. Department of Justice later alleged that the company secretly maintained the business through a subsidiary.
During a 2023 Senate hearing, Matthew Olsen, then head of the Justice Department’s national security division, said the venture generated roughly $418 million in banking transactions, producing revenue that advanced North Korea’s weapons programs.
That same year, BAT entered into a deferred prosecution agreement. The subsidiary pleaded guilty, and together they agreed to pay $629 million in fines to resolve charges of conspiring to violate sanctions and committing bank fraud.
“On behalf of BAT, we deeply regret the misconduct arising from historical business activities that led to these settlements,” then-Chief Executive Jack Bowles said in a statement in 2023. He acknowledged the company fell short of expected standards and said BAT had overhauled its compliance and ethics programs, strengthening safeguards related to sanctions, anti-bribery, anti-corruption and anti-money laundering.
