Dan-Bunkering Faces Bribery Allegation in US Legal Fight With Former Employees

Jim Jensen was formerly the managing director of Dan-Bunkering's US unit. Image Credit: Dan-Bunkering

An allegation of 'commercial bribery' has been levelled against global marine fuels firm Dan-Bunkering during an ongoing legal dispute with two former employees.

The firm filed a lawsuit against former employees Jim Jensen and William Cline in September 2024 after the pair had left Dan-Bunkering's US unit the previous month. Jensen had served as Dan-Bunkering's managing director in the US, while Cline had been its senior fuel supplier and team leader.

The suit accused Jensen and Cline - who went on to work for rival firm Burando Energies - of breaching contractual obligations by soliciting Dan-Bunkering employees to join them with their new employer. 

Both Jensen and Cline have denied the allegations.

Ecuador Allegation

But in a response to the suit, Jensen has raised an allegation of 'commercial bribery' against his former employer.

"Prior to his resignation, Jensen discovered a discrepancy in Dan-Bunkering's profit and loss statements in a transaction where bunkers were supplied in the port of Houston to an Ecuadorian client," Jensen's legal team wrote in a counter-claim filed in December 2024.

"Dan-Bunkering was apparently charging far more than it would in a typical transaction yet making far less profit than such high selling prices to the client should have yielded.

"Jensen concluded that the discrepancy appeared to be related to illegal acts, specifically commercial bribery facilitated by a sister office."

Jensen reported the activity to Dan-Bunkering executives and via the company's whistle-blower email hotline, but received no response and was subsequently asked to approve a large payment to the same firm in Ecuador, according to the counter-claim.

Dan-Bunkering's Response

Dan-Bunkering has denied the allegations.

"The allegations against Dan-Bunkering in the matter in question are baseless and constitute outright misrepresentation by a former employee against whom we have initiated legal proceedings," Claus Bulch Klausen, CEO of Dan-Bunkering, told Ship & Bunker on Friday.

"It is noteworthy, and hardly coincidental, that these unfounded allegations are surfacing now; this is an obvious tactical attempt to discredit Dan-Bunkering, which we categorically reject, as Dan-Bunkering has zero-tolerance towards non-compliant behavior.

"We will never accept breaches of employment contracts or contractual clauses, whether during or after employment, as is the case in this matter.

"The fact is that last August, within a few hours, there was a coordinated resignation by senior employees in the US and Denmark, with the intention of joining the same competing company.

"This led us to initiate legal proceedings against some of the former employees."

The case is due to be heard at a Texas court in February.