Essentra reaches settlement with DoJ over 2018 transactions

Essentra had agrees a settlement with the US Department of Justice and will pay a $666,543 cash penalty in relation to unauthorised transactions dating back to 2018 by two employees of its subsidiary, Essentra FZE.

The supplier of plastic and fibre products said the settlement resolves an investigation by the DoJ and the US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) into a small number of unauthorised transactions engaged in by two employees of Essentra FZE - which undertakes the company's filters activities in Dubai - linked to North Korea.

Essentra said none of the transactions were approved or known by senior management outside of the UAE and both employees have since been let go.

The company cooperated fully with the DoJ and OFAC during the investigation, it said.

Chief executive Paul Forman said: "A very thorough and in depth investigation has been carried out to fully understand the root cause of the issues we have seen. We have made a very significant investment of both time and money, which has now equipped us with enhanced protection against any potential future issues of this nature."