Bunker Holding Strongly Rejects New War Crimes Allegations

• Bunker Holding and subsidiary Dan-Bunkering "extremely shocked" to be reported to Danish police over new Syria war crime allegations
• Bunker Holding strongly rejects the allegations, calling them unfounded, factually incorrect, and unrelated to the firm's actions
• Claims relate to events nearly a decade old and a case that was fully resolved in Danish courts in 2021
• The 2021 ruling fined the companies and issued a four-month suspended sentence to the former CEO over sanctions-breaching jet fuel trades, but found no evidence the fuel was used in war crimes
• A new Danish law enabling domestic prosecution of war crimes is believed to have triggered the fresh complaint

Former Bunker Holding CEO Keld Demant. Image Credit: Bunker Holding

Bunker Holding and its subsidiary Dan-Bunkering have been reported to the Danish police over allegations related to alleged war crimes in Syria.

The company announced the allegations in a LinkedIn post on Wednesday.

"Over the past few days, we have been made aware that an external lawyer has reported Bunker Holding and our subsidiary company, Dan-Bunkering, to the police with allegations related to war crimes in Syria," the firm said.

"The allegations come nearly ten years after the events in question and years after the case was thoroughly examined, resolved, and closed in 2021.

"A new Danish law passed earlier this year now makes it possible to prosecute war crimes domestically.

"This seems to be the reason for the new allegations against us. But the underlying facts have not changed.

"We strongly reject the premise that Bunker Holding or Dan-Bunkering is responsible for or in any way connected to war crimes.

"The case dates back almost a decade and was fully resolved in the Danish legal system four years ago."

In December 2021 Bunker Holding was fined DKK 4 million, Dan-Bunkering was fined DKK 30 million, as well as having profits of DKK 15 million confiscated, and former Bunker Holding CEO Keld Demant was handed a four-month suspended prison sentence over Dan-Bunkering's trades of jet fuel in the Eastern Mediterranean that breached EU sanctions on Syria.

In Wednesday's statement the company said the court had found the companies should have known the fuel would end up in Syria, but that they had seen no evidence to show how it was used, and the fuel was sold to non-sanctioned companies who had told Dan-Bunkering it would not be used in violation of sanctions.

"The court later concluded that the customers had not complied with this requirement and placed responsibility on Bunker Holding and Dan-Bunkering," Bunker Holding said.

"Both companies naturally accepted the ruling and have since tightened procedures and systems to ensure that such a situation can never occur again.

"So this is why we are not just puzzled but extremely shocked to now be met with allegations as extreme as war crimes.

"These allegations are not grounded in facts or supported by the legal conclusions reached years ago.

"And they are not connected in any way to how our companies have acted. Calling this a 'far stretch' is an understatement. It is simply not rooted in reality.

"We want our employees, partners, and stakeholders to hear directly from us: We reject the allegations entirely!"

To read Bunker Holding's full post explaining the issue, click here.