Japan Tobacco's Canada Unit Agrees to Pay Fines in Smuggling Case

Source from:  Kyodo News 04/14/2010

Japan Tobacco Inc said Tuesday its Canadian unit has reached a settlement with Canadian authorities to pay a fine of C$150 million, or about 14 billion yen, over alleged involvement in tobacco smuggling in the 1990s. The Canadian authorities have been conducting criminal and civil investigations against JTI-Macdonald Corp, alleging it exported cigarettes to the United States during 1991 and 1996 so they would be smuggled back into Canada to avoid taxes. Japan Tobacco bought RJR Macdonald from American tobacco maker R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Holdings Inc in 1999. As a result, RJR Macdonald was placed under JT's wing and renamed JTI-Macdonald. Japan Tobacco said the JT group and the RJR group have agreed to pay a combined C$550 million to the Canadian government over the alleged smuggling, which took place before Japan Tobacco acquired RJR Macdonald. Enditem