Business

Criminal law expert: ‘Unusual’ fines and sentences against Dan-Bunkering by court

‘It is not often that we see fines of that magnitude in Denmark and it is not every day that we see directors who are sentenced to imprisonment,’ says Thomas Elholm.

Published

5 years ago

December 16, 2021

Admin

Disclaimer: An online translation service was used in the production of the current editorial piece, which Manifold Times had reproduction permission from Danish Radio (DR).

The court in Odense did not follow the prosecutors demand for two years imprisonment of Bunker Holding CEO Keld R. Demant in a case of jet fuel to Syria, but still the verdict is unusual, according to a criminal law expert.

“It is an unusual case because the court has given very large fines and custodial sentences to a director. It is conditional, but still a custodial sentence,” states the expert.

This is the assessment by criminal law expert Thomas Elholm from the University of Copenhagen after a verdict on Tuesday (14 December) against Dan-Bunkering, the owner company Bunker Holding and the top director Keld Demant.

The court in Odense found them guilty of violating EU sanctions for supplying jet fuel that ended up in Russian fighter jets in Syria from 2015 to 2017, where Russian fighter jets bombed massively in Syria in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The verdict was a fine of DKK 30 million (USD 4.5 million) to Dan-Bunkering and a DKK 4 million fine (USD 610,000) to the owner company Bunker Holding. Bunker Holding’s CEO Keld Demant was given four months probation.

The behind-the-scenes police (SØIK) had otherwise demanded much harsher penalties in the case, namely two years in prison for the CEO of Bunker Holding, Keld Demant, and fines for the two companies amounting to DKK 400 million (USD 60.72 million).

Nevertheless, criminal law professor Thomas Elholm considers the verdict from the Court in Odense to be unusual.

“It is not often that we see fines of that magnitude in Denmark. And it is not every day that we see directors who are sentenced to imprisonment,” says Thomas Elholm.

‘Ready for them’

The court in Odense states in judgment that Dan-Bunkering has 33 times delivered a total of 172,000 tons of jet fuel, which ended up in Syria. And that the company must have “realised it as overwhelmingly probable” the jet fuel was to be used by the Russian military in Syria.

Therefore, according to the court it is a continuing infringement.

The owner company Bunker Holding and the top director Keld Demant have been convicted of not intervening and stopping the deliveries.

According to the court, they should have done so after the Danish Business Authority approached in December 2016 with a suspicion that Dan-Bunkering violated the EU’s Syria-sanctions .

Instead, the owner company and the top director participated “passively” so that deliveries could continue, the verdict states.

“It is a clear verdict,” said an assessment from Thomas Elholm.

“There was agreement in court that the companies and the accused director have violated the rules. There is no doubt about that,” he adds.

No similar cases

According to professor Thomas Elholm, there were no similar cases of violation sanctions in Denmark.

The court in Odense has thus not been able to refer to previous judgments, as it had to impose the sentence.

“The verdict may have significance later for other cases, because it is one of the first verdicts to determine the level of punishment. That way it is a special case,” comments Thomas Elholm.

The prosecutors had demanded very high fines because they thought the fines should be measured according to what the companies had traded for in the jet fuel dealers.

That would be similar to how to impose punishment in money laundering cases. The court chose instead to impose the fines according to what the companies had earned on the trades.

“That you calculate fines according to the profit, you see in many areas,” says Thomas Elholm.

Dan-Bunkering is considering appeal

The two convicted companies and top director Keld Demant write in one press release that they have taken the accusations very seriously throughout the process.

“We will therefore take the necessary time to assess both the judgment and the premises thoroughly before we decide whether the judgments should be appealed,” states the press release.

The convicts noted the court has imposed a significantly lower sentence than the prosecutor had demanded. Emphasizing that only Dan-Bunkering has been convicted of violating the EU intentional sanctions.

“On the other hand, the court did not find that either Bunker Holding or its CEO had deliberately acted in breach of the EU sanctions, but on the contrary that action had been taken negligently,” according to a press release.

Prosecutors: ‘Very serious’

The prosecution provided a comment to the court ruling that Dan-Bunkering has sold over 170,000 tons of jet fuel to Russian companies, which sent it on to Syria.

“It says something about the seriousness of the violation, that the fuel has entered the minds of Russian fighter jets that have bombed Syria on behalf of Assad,” says Anders Rechendorff, senior plaintiff, the Public Prosecutor for Special Economic and International Crime (SØIK).

“It is of course very serious when you as a Danish company violate the EU sanctions imposed on another country in the light of a very critical situation.”

The parties may appeal the judgment to the High Court within 14 days.

Note: Earlier Manifold Times coverage regarding Bunker Holding/Dan-Bunkering’s breaches of EU sanctions can be found below:

Source: DR
Photo credit: Tingey Injury Law Firm from Unsplash
Published: 16 December, 2021

Technology

Singapore: Ofiniti, ONE trial direct platform integration to streamline bunker workflows

Ofiniti started a trial in Singapore, integrating FuelBoss directly with a bunker buyer’s own platform, with Ocean Network Express as its first buyer-side integration partner.

Published

43 minutes ago

July 22, 2026

Admin

Singapore: Ofiniti, ONE trial direct platform integration to streamline bunker workflows

Ofiniti, the digital platform for maritime fuel operations, on Tuesday (21 July) said it has started a trial in Singapore, integrating FuelBoss directly with a bunker buyer’s own platform.

The company announced Singapore-headquartered container shipping firm Ocean Network Express (ONE) as its first buyer-side integration partner.

“It is no coincidence we start in Singapore, as the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) remains at the forefront of digitalisation of all things bunkering,” the company said in a social media post.

In November 2023, MPA launched its digital bunkering platform, becoming the world’s first port to implement e-BDN.

Ofiniti said every bunker delivery still runs on retyped data.

“The buyer’s system says one thing, the supplier says another, and someone reconciles the gap by email, phone, or PDF. On every stem,” the company said.

“We built FuelBoss to change this reality.”

With the integration, operational data now flows without manual re-entry, fewer reconciliation errors and faster processing and data, instead of documents, are readily available for procurement and claims workflows.

“One connection will not transform the industry on its own, but digitalisation gets built one integration at a time. We are grateful to ONE for being willing to go first,” Ofiniti added.

Manifold Times previously reported ONE completing its successful trial of the electronic Bunker Delivery Note (e-BDN) with Shell.

The e-BDN trial, using the digital bunkering solution developed by Angsana Technology, was conducted on 9 September 2023 at the Port of Singapore, with support from the MPA.

In March 2025, Ofiniti acquired Singapore-based Angsana Technology, with the entire Angsana team joining Ofiniti as part of the acquisition.

Photo credit: Ofiniti
Published: 22 July, 2026

Legal

Singapore withdraws remaining 127 charges against Hin Leong founder OK Lim

Lim Oon Kuin, also known as OK Lim, was issued a stern warning and a district court granted him a discharge amounting to an acquittal for these charges on 17 July.

Published

23 hours ago

July 21, 2026

Admin

Founder of collapsed oil trader Hin Leong Trading, Lim Oon Kuin, also known as OK Lim, has had the remaining 127 charges against him withdrawn, according to The Straits Times on Monday (20 July).

OK Lim was issued a stern warning and a district court granted him a discharge amounting to an acquittal for these charges, including those for cheating, on 17 July. The discharge means Lim cannot be prosecuted again for the same offences.

Lim, 84, is currently serving a 13½-year prison sentence after the High Court reduced his original 17½-year jail term in March 2026. He was convicted in 2024 on two cheating charges and one count of abetting forgery in a case prosecutors described as one of Singapore’s most serious trade finance frauds.

Lim was convicted in May 2024 of two charges of cheating the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) and one count of abetting forgery that proceeded to trial out of a total of 130 criminal charges.

He was first charged in court on 14 August 2020, and was subsequently handed further charges in court on 25 September 2020, 30 April 2021 and 24 June 2021 for his role in perpetuating fraud on various financial institutions.

A total of 130 charges were eventually brought against him for cheating and forgery-related offences.

Photo credit: Sora Shimazaki
Published: 21 July, 2026

Winding up

Singapore: Coastal Logistics Pte Ltd to be wound up voluntarily

Coastal Logistics was reportedly affiliated with troubled Singapore bunker player Coastal Oil (Singapore) Pte Ltd.

Published

23 hours ago

July 21, 2026

Admin

Several resolutions for Coastal Logistics Pte Ltd were made during an extraordinary general meeting held on 14 July, according to a notice in the Government Gazette on Friday (4 July).

The following resolutions were duly passed during the meeting:

As Special Resolution

That it has been proved to the satisfaction of the meeting that the Company cannot by reason of its liabilities continue its business and accordingly the Company be wound up voluntarily pursuant to Section 160(1)(b) of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018 (No. 40 of 2018);

As Ordinary Resolutions

that Mr. Wong Pheng Cheong Martin and Ms. Koay May Yee, both care of FTI Consulting (Singapore) Pte Ltd, One Raffles Quay, #27-10 South Tower, Singapore 048583 be appointed as the joint and several Liquidators of the Company for the purpose of such winding up; and
that the Liquidators be at liberty to open, maintain and operate any bank account(s) or account(s) for monies received by them as Liquidators with such bank(s) as they deem fit; and
that a Committee of Inspection will not be formed.

Manifold Times previously reported Nicholas James Gronow, director of Heng Tong Fuels & Shipping and Coastal Logistics, filed statutory declarations for both companies stating the firms cannot continue their businesses due to liabilities.

Both companies were reportedly affiliated with troubled Singapore bunker player Coastal Oil (Singapore) Pte Ltd.

In 2019, several vessels owned by both firms entered the sale & purchase (S&P) market in Singapore.

Photo credit: Drew Beamer
Published: 21 July, 2026

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Manifold Times

Criminal law expert: ‘Unusual’ fines and sentences against Dan-Bunkering by court

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Criminal law expert: ‘Unusual’ fines and sentences against Dan-Bunkering by court

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