EC to Pursue Cigarette-Smuggling Charges Against R.J. Reynolds
- Share via
The European Commission said Thursday it would press ahead with a U.S. lawsuit against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Holdings Inc. on money-laundering charges after a U.S. court threw out a separate cigarette-smuggling claim.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in New York on Wednesday upheld a lower-court decision to dismiss the European smuggling suit against R.J. Reynolds and Philip Morris Cos.
The European Union’s central regulator is moving ahead with a suit against R.J. Reynolds alleging that it failed to prevent crime syndicates in Russia, Italy and Colombia from using cigarette purchases to launder proceeds from narcotics and weapons trafficking, a spokeswoman said.
“We are still considering whether to file money-laundering cases against other companies,” the spokeswoman said.
R.J. Reynolds called the accusations “absurd” when the commission filed the money-laundering suit in a U.S. District Court in Brooklyn in October 2002.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
