World News
OW Bunker Collapse: No Arrests Despite Confession, Serious Fraud Office Ready to Act
Denmark's Serious Fraud Office and North Jutland Police are investigating whether there are grounds for initiating an investigation into OW Bunker, according to reports today in the Danish media.
The move follows earlier news of a massive $125 million fraud at the bunker company's Singapore-based subsidiary Dynamic Oil Trading (DoT), plus a risk management loss it estimates to be an additional $150 million.
"We need to clarify if it is an isolated case which occurred in Singapore, or whether there are threads to Denmark," a prosecutor's spokesman Mikkel Thastum told news outlet Ritzau.
Earlier today, North Jutland Police said it had not yet received any notification from OW Bunker regarding the matter.
As such, no arrests have yet been made despite reports that a Dynamic Oil Trading manager has confessed to the fraud.
According to the reports in Danish media, the individual, who has not been officially named, flew to Denmark from Singapore on Wednesday and confessed to the fraud that has been taking place over the previous six months.
"We don't know why he came to us and told us about the matters, and we cannot go into details about the events because police investigations are ongoing," OW Bunker Chairman Niels Henrik Jensen was quoted as saying.
Trading in OW Bunker's shares were suspended yesterday, followed by an announcement by the company of the $125 million fraud plus an estimated mark to market loss of around $150 million.
Today, the bunker company said that following a failed attempt to win the backing of its syndicate banks, it has decided to file for commencement of in-court restructuring procedure.
Following a short hearing at the bankruptcy court in Aalborg, Denmark, it has been given until December 1, 2014 to come up with a restructuring plan.
OW Bunker said it expects to be insolvent, and it must be assumed that the group's equity is lost.
Key Bunker Prices More
| VLSFO | MGO | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $/mt | +/- | $/mt | +/- | |
| Singapore | 560.50 | 7.00 | 669.00 | 4.00 |
| Rotterdam | 512.50 | 2.00 | 653.00 | 2.00 |
| Houston | 548.00 | 3.00 | 671.00 | 0.00 |
| Fujairah | 549.00 | 6.00 | 747.00 | 0.00 |
| Global 20 Ports Average | 577.50 | 3.50 | 749.50 | 1.50 |
| Global 4 Ports Average | 542.50 | 3.50 | 685.00 | 0.50 |
| Global Average Bunker Price | 628.50 | 1.50 | 800.50 | 1.00 |
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