The US justice department on Monday asked the supreme court to reinstate a potential US$ 280 billion penalty in the government's racketeering case against cigarette makers.

Lawyers for the department filed a petition with the high court asking it to review an appeals court decision that barred the government from seeking past tobacco profits as a legal remedy for decades of alleged fraud by the tobacco industry.
"The government cannot protect the public interest if it cannot 'divest (a racketeering enterprise) of the fruits of its ill-gotten gains'," the department said in its petition.
The department said the 4 February appeals court ruling contradicted a previous supreme court ruling that granted judges the "full scope" of remedies when deciding racketeering cases.
Industry leader Philip Morris USA vowed to fight the petition. Anti-smoking groups praised the move and said it would be inappropriate for the government to pursue any out-of-court settlement while its petition was before the supreme court.
The government and tobacco companies have held settlement meetings this year at the urging of the trial judge. (pi)