POKKA SG denies knowledge of alleged illegal exports to North Korea

POKKA Singapore has denied knowledge of the alleged illegal exports to North Korea reported by media outlets, its spokesperson told Marketing. This comes as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has confirmed to multiple media outlets including ST and TODAY that it is investigating POKKA Singapore’s exports. This was after it was alleged that one of POKKA Singapore’s distributors in Europe had been pressured by a senior executive in the company last year to help hide the firm’s sales to North Korea.According to POKKA, the media reports on the matter contained information that are “false and unsubstantiated”. The company’s spokesperson said: “POKKA International is not aware of any distributor with which it trades that exports POKKA products to North Korea. [The company] would immediately suspend business with customers in and outside Singapore that are suspected of trading in North Korea.”Additionally, the company enforces a “firm policy” not to trade with distributors that export to North Korea directly or indirectly and has “robust internal policies” in place that would prevent the execution of a trade with a distributor in North Korea, the spokesperson added.“POKKA International requires a written declaration from all local exporters and local wholesalers that the ultimate destination is not North Korea and would immediately suspend business with customers in and outside Singapore that are suspected of trading in North Korea,” the company explained to Marketing.Meanwhile, the company said it is cooperating fully with the authorities in relation to their ongoing investigations, which are “primarily into matters that took place prior to 19 September 2018, which was when Rieko Shofu took over from Alain Ong as CEO of POKKA International”.“POKKA International is committed to ensuring that it complies with all national laws and UN sanctions, including ensuring that it has no dealings with North Korea,” added the spokesperson. Marketing has reached out to MFA for comment.The news first appeared on NK News, which reports happenings in North Korea, and the report stated that the distributor’s working relationship with the company, spanning 27 years, was terminated after its refusal to cooperate. NK News also added that its investigations last year discovered emails from POKKA Singapore seeking buyers for North Korea and that POKKAa’s products were still widely available in Pyongyang as of September 2018 despite the ongoing trade bans.