A three-member Federal Court bench chaired by Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat said the appeal stemmed from an extradition treaty between Washington and Putrajaya and was not a trial.

“Having perused the grounds of judgment of the High Court, all requirements to extradite the appellant have been fulfilled,” she said.

As such, Tengku Maimun said, the decision of the High Court was affirmed.

Mun Chol Myong, 55, who has lived in Kuala Lumpur for about 10 years with his family, was arrested in 2019 following a request from Washington.

He had denied an FBI claim that he led a criminal group that violated sanctions by supplying prohibited items to North Korea and laundered funds through front companies.

His defence team said he was involved only in the supply of palm oil and soybean oil to his home country.

The sessions court approved his extradition in December 2019 but Mun filed a habeas corpus application at the Kuala Lumpur High Court last year, which was dismissed.

He has been in custody since his arrest.

His lawyers argued that his detention was unlawful as the allegations against him were of a political nature.

High Court Judge Ahmad Shahrir Mohamad Salleh last October rejected the argument and said procedures were correctly followed.

“There was no sufficient evidence to support this challenge against the backdrop of the money laundering-related indictments”, Shahrir ruled.

Mun was not in court today but his wife and North Korean officials were present.

Lawyer Gooi Soon Seng appeared for Mun while deputy public prosecutor Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar represented the home ministry.