44-year-old Tan Wee Beng, a man who made it to FBI’s most wanted list was found guilty of falsifying paper works to conduct his business.
Tan Wee Beng is the managing director and a stakeholder of Wee Tiong (S) Pte Ltd, a commodity trading firm. He was sentenced to a $210,000 fine (plus seven months in jail). Another 13 identical counts were considered for sentence.
Wee Tiong (S) Pte Ltd supplied sugar and other products to two people from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) through their individual firms, with payments sent to Wee Tiong (S) Pte Ltd and its connected company, Morgan Marcos Pte Ltd.
FBI poster
Investigations revealed that Tan was contacted by two banks which asked him regarding deposits made to Wee Tiong (S) Pte Ltd and Morgan Marcos Pte Ltd. These deposits were made in exchange for products sold to DPRK citizens. Tan Wee Beng was afraid that if either bank discovered that Wee Tiong (S) Pte Ltd had transacted with firms associated with the DPRK, their connection with the businesses would be terminated.
In order to hide his illegal actions, he falsify the invoices
On these invoices, the identities of the end customers and the destination ports were altered to erase any ties to the DPRK. Tan Wee Beng then signed and submitted the fraudulent bills to the banks.