Key Takeaways
- BAT is facing a shareholder lawsuit in London’s High Court
- Claimants allege insufficient market disclosure about North Korea-related operations from 2007 to 2023
- BAT agreed in 2023 to pay more than $635 million to U.S. authorities
- A subsidiary admitted conspiracy to violate U.S. sanctions and commit bank fraud from 2007 to 2017
- The claim value is not disclosed; court records show a separate claim filed the same day
2Firsts, March 5, 2026
According to Reuters, British American Tobacco (BAT) is facing a London shareholder lawsuit alleging it failed to properly inform markets about breaches of U.S. sanctions connected to its business in North Korea.
Reuters said BAT agreed in 2023 to pay more than $635 million to U.S. authorities after a subsidiary admitted conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions by selling tobacco products to North Korea and committing bank fraud from 2007 to 2017.
Claimants’ lawyers said in a statement that more than 100 current and former BAT shareholders filed a lawsuit against the company at London’s High Court on February 27. Fox Williams said the claim alleges BAT failed to properly publish information to the stock market about its business operations in North Korea from 2007 to 2023.
Reuters said BAT did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The value of the lawsuit is not known and no further details were immediately available. Court records show a separate lawsuit was filed at the High Court the same day; Stewarts, the law firm representing that group of claimants, declined to comment.
Image Source: Reuters
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