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A company and its 49-year-old male director will be charged in court on 31 July 2026 for their alleged involvement in providing flag registration services to a vessel in contravention of the United Nations (Sanctions – Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) Regulations 2010 under the United Nations Act 2001. 

Investigations by the Commercial Affairs Department revealed that on 18 May 2022, the company provided flag registration services in respect of the vessel PETREL 8. The vessel had been designated by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on 3 October 2017, pursuant to Resolutions UN S/RES/2317 (2017) and UN S/RES/2375 (2017), for transporting prohibited items from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). 

At the material time, it is alleged that the company director had reasonable grounds to believe that PETREL 8 was a UNSC-designated vessel involved in transporting prohibited items from the DPRK when the flag registration services were provided. The company will be charged with one count under Regulation 8D(d)(ii) of the United Nations (Sanctions – DPRK) Regulations 2010. The company director will be charged with one count under Regulation 8D(d)(ii) read with Regulation 13(a) of the same Regulations, for abetting the company to commit the offence.

The offence under the United Nations Act 2001 for contravening these Regulations carries an imprisonment term of up to 10 years and/or a fine of up to S$500,000 for an individual.  In the case for a company, the offence carries a fine of up to S$1 million. 

The United Nations (Sanctions – DPRK) Regulations 2010 under the United Nations Act 2001 gives effect to sanctions imposed by the UNSC on the DPRK to curb the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. This includes prohibitions against the provision of services for vessels where there are reasonable grounds to believe the vessels are or were involved in activities that support the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction by the DPRK. Singapore takes its international obligations under UNSC Resolutions seriously and is committed to implementing them fully. The Police will not hesitate to take action against any individual or entity that breaches Singapore’s laws and regulations.