The European Union is probing alleged illicit cigarette shipments by Japan Tobacco Inc. to a firm close to Syrian President Bashar Assad in violation of the regional body's economic sanctions on the Middle Eastern country, EU officials said.
The European Anti-Fraud Office is investigating whether the cigarette maker, half owned by the Japanese government, has aided the Syrian government, which is now engaged in a bloody civil war after a crackdown on antigovernment protesters that began in March last year, they said.
A JT official in Tokyo said the company halted cigarette shipments to the Syrian company after it discovered an Assad family member who is the target of sanctions was a shareholder in it.