Business

Dan-Bunkering trial: Defence lawyer pleads for full acquittal of clients in court

Last day of Dan-Bunkering’s trial over violation of alleged EU Syrian sanctions ends on 1 December; judgement to be made on Tuesday (14 December).

Published

3 years ago

December 3, 2021

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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).

On the last day of Dan-Bunkering’s court hearing trial in Odense, defense lawyers representing Bunker Holding and its director on Wednesday (1 December) demanded acquittal against the case of alleged illegal deliveries of jet fuel in Syria, according to DR.

The owner company Bunker Holding and CEO, Keld Demant, through their legal team, said in court that only Dan-Bunkering is responsible for the jet fuel trade.

“It is not Bunker Holding that has sold the fuel, it is the subsidiary. If one's daughter or son commits something criminal, the parents cannot be held responsible. And so it is here too,” said Bunker Holding's defender, Henrik B. Sanders.

However, the defendant continued to stress he does not believe Dan-Bunkering has violated the EU sanctions.

“But Bunker Holding must be judged solely for its own role in the case,” he continued.

Dan-Bunkering, a parent company of Bunker Holding and top director Keld Demant, was accused of having participated in eight of the 33 deliveries of jet fuel involved in the case.

The deliveries took place after the Danish Business Authority in December 2016 approached Dan-Bunkering with a suspicion that the company delivered jet fuel to Syria.

'Follow the money'

But regardless of the Danish Business Authority's inquiry, all transactions have been the sole responsibility of Dan-Bunkering, states Bunker Holding’s defender.

“As they say in old crime movies: If you are in doubt about what has happened, follow the money. And all purchases and sales have taken place from Dan-Bunkering's accounts,” said Henrik B. Sanders.

In the due course of trial, Bunker Holding's role in the jet fuel deliveries in Syria was discussed several times. Among other things, it appeared the owner company approved credits to the Russian customer who received the fuel. But the defence lawyer emphasised Dan-Bunkering was in charge of the transactions.

Dan-Bunkering made the decision as a whole. The owner company Bunker Holding could only advise the subsidiary, said Bunker Holding’s defender.

As such, Henrik B. Sanders pleaded for full acquittal.

“Of course, there has been no intention to violate sanctions,” he said.

On Tuesday (30 November) the prosecutor demanded Bunker Holding be fined DKK 81 million (USD 12.3 million). But even if it ends in a verdict, there is no basis for a fine, said Henrik B. Sanders.

“Bunker Holding has not had any earnings on the trades. They took place in Dan-Bunkering. Therefore, one cannot impose a fine,” he said.

Two years in prison beyond the limit

Also, the defender of Bunker Holding’s top Director, Keld Demant, on Wednesday (1 December) demanded acquittal in court.

“To demand two years' imprisonment is completely over,” said defence lawyer Hanne Rahbæk about the prosecutor's demands for a prison sentence.

Hanne Rahbæk explained Keld Demant, as top director of Bunker Holding, has 66 companies under him, which together carry out 55,000 trades a year.

“How much should you, as top director of an international company, be on target for what is going on two or three steps down? It can have an impact on how vulnerable it is to be a business leader in Denmark,” adds the defence lawyer.

According to Hanne Rahbæk, Keld Demant had no knowledge at all of the eight specific trades in jet fuel, which he is accused of having participated in.

“And since he did not have knowledge of the eight trades, he could not stop them for good reasons,” said Hanne Rahbæk.

Thoroughly researched

The eight transactions were completed after the Danish Business Authority in December 2016 approached Dan-Bunkering on suspicion that the company supplied jet fuel used in Syria.

The inquiry led to an internal investigation in the group. It concluded that there were no problems, and Keld Demant was assured of this, explained the defence lawyer.

According to the prosecution, Keld Demant involved himself in the investigation and thus assumed responsibility. The former director of the subsidiary Dan-Bunkering Henrik Skov Hansen Zederkof explained in court Bunker Holding was responsible for the investigation, and that he was personally told by Keld Demant that he should not take care of it.

The former Dan-Bunkering director also explained in court Bunker Holding made decisions for Dan-Bunkering on both credits and compliance with sanctions. It was not a responsibility Dan-Bunkering himself had, he said from the witness stand.

But that was simply not true, said Keld Demant’s defence lawyer.

“I think it is a slip in his memory,” said Hanne Rahbæk about the former Dan-Bunkering director, who is in charge of another subsidiary of Bunker Holding.

Hanne Rahbæk said Keld Demant’s role as top director is to set out the overall rules. And he has, among other things, ensured the group has a computer system ensuring trade with ships and companies are subject to sanctions.

“I have a hard time seeing how my client should be able to do further,” Hanne Rahbæk said in court.

A decision will be handed down in the case at the court in Odense on Tuesday (14 December).

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

Photo credit: Tingey Injury Law Firm from Unsplash
Source: DR
Published: 3 December, 2021

Business

Shell MGO bunker heist: Bunker clerk pleads guilty to helping Sentek acquire misappropriated fuel

Wong Wai Meng, who received more than USD 286,000 from Sentek Marine & Trading for his assistance, pleaded guilty to 12 counts of intentionally helping the firm acquire the misappropriated marine gas.

Published

8 hours ago

December 2, 2024

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A bunker clerk, Wong Wai Meng, who received more than USD 286,000 (SGD 384,681) from Singapore-based Sentek Marine & Trading (Sentek) for his assistance, pleaded guilty to 12 counts of intentionally helping the company acquire misappropriated marine gas oil, The Straits Times reported on Friday (29 November).

The 58-year-old Singaporean was employed at the Sentek when he assisted in acquiring more than 28,000 metric tonnes (mt) of the misappropriated fuel worth USD 13.58 million (SGD 18.26 million).

Wong committed the offences over 46 occasions between August 2014 and December 2017.

Wong is among the three bunker clerks previously employed by Sentek, who were charged for offences under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act (CDSA) and the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA).

Another bunker clerk among the three charged, Wong Kuin Wah, 61, was sentenced to seven years and six months’ jail on 18 November for his role in misappropriating more than 27,000 tonnes of gas oil worth around USD 12.8 million (SGD 17.2 million).

The third individual who was charged, Boo Pu Wen, reportedly passed away in July 2023 and had his charges abated following his death, meaning Boo’s court proceedings over his 19 charges at the time came to an end.

Former Shell employees, who were key members of a group who dishonestly misappropriated fuel from Shell Pulau Bukom, were sentenced to jail in court earlier.

Earlier coverage of developments by Manifold Times regarding the Shell MGO bunker heist can be found below:

Photo credit: Katrin Bolovtsova
Published: 2 December, 2024

Biofuel

Singapore: GCMD introduces new technique for FAME bio bunker fuel fingerprinting

Fingerprinting identifies feedstock origins of FAME-based biofuels used in shipping industry; can be used as a potential tool to detect fraud in marine fuel supply chains and ensure biofuel authenticity.

Published

8 hours ago

December 2, 2024

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Singapore: GCMD introduces new technique for FAME bio bunker fuel fingerprinting

The Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) on Monday (2 December) released its latest report, presenting a new technique that creates a fingerprint for Fatty Acid Methyl Esters(FAME) bio bunker fuels.

This fingerprint identifies the feedstock origins of the FAME-based biofuels used in the shipping industry.

GCMD said FAME fingerprinting is needed as the shipping sector is increasingly using biofuels, such as FAME, to reduce its GHG emissions. With that, concerns have arisen regarding the legitimacy of biofuels and whether they are truly sustainable.

Industry bodies are seeing a rising number of cases mislabelling biofuels purported to be made from recycled oils and fats, while suspicions persist that they might be produced from cheaper and less sustainable virgin oils.

“To address these concerns, FAME fingerprinting can be used as a potential tool to detect fraud in marine fuel supply chains and ensure biofuel authenticity. By providing a physical validation method that complements existing certification schemes, FAME fingerprinting can help justify the green premium with genuine environmental benefits and safeguard the integrity of marine fuels supply chain,” GCMD said.

FAME fingerprinting is based on the principle that the fatty acid profile of FAME is unique to its feedstock and can be preserved during feedstock transesterification to produce FAME. The "fingerprint" can then be compared against a database of known fatty acid profiles to identify the feedstock origin.

GCMD worked with VPS who modified existing fuel testing methods to carry out sample analyses using a gas chromatograph with flame-ionisation detection, an instrument commonly found in fuel test laboratories.

The analysis takes about an hour, comparable to the turnaround time for current marine fuel quality testing in the supply chain.

“We have tested this method on a variety of FAME samples from different suppliers, including virgin oils, used cooking oils, palm oil mill effluent, beef tallow and food waste and were able to identify the feedstock origins for each sample,” GCMD added.

Manifold Times previously reported Captain Rahul Choudhuri, President, Strategic Partnerships at marine fuels testing company VPS, forecasting the use of finger printing technology today will likely establish a blueprint of how future alternative bunker fuels’ feedstocks are authenticated.

Captain Choudhuri said this when he gave an update of VPS’ biofuels finger printing trials with GCMD.

Note: The full report, titled ‘Rapid forensic analysis of FAME-based biofuels: Potential use of its fingerprint as a fraud detection tool’, can be downloaded here.

Photo credit: Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation
Published: 2 December, 2024

Methanol

PLAGEN to produce and supply green methanol bunker fuel with Latvia plant

Korean firm’s MoU with AE Risinājumi will see construction of Latvia’s first commercial-scale green methanol production plant, which will supply green methanol to ships in EU’s maritime fleet.

Published

8 hours ago

December 2, 2024

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PLAGEN to produce and supply green methanol bunker fuel with Latvia plant

South Korean clean energy firm PLAGEN on Friday (29 November) signed an MOU with Latvian company, AE Risinājumi, for the production of green methanol in Latvia at the “2024 Latvia-Korea Business Forum” hosted by the President of Latvia.

The agreement will result in the construction of Latvia's first commercial-scale green methanol production plant, which will supply green methanol to ships in the EU's maritime fleet, contributing to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from maritime transportation.

PLAGEN's MoU aims to produce 20,000 metric tonnes (mt) of green methanol per year and will begin feasibility studies in the first half of 2025, and full-scale production will begin in 2028.

With 53% of Latvia's land area covered by forests, timber production and wood processing make a significant contribution to Latvia’s economic production, which generates a large amount of forest residues and wood wastes. In addition, Latvia also has an abundance and low price of renewable electricity from wind power.

Latvia is one of the most competitive countries in the European Union, as it can produce clean methanol at a competitive price by using abundant wood waste as a raw material and renewable electricity from cheap wind power.

The use of abundant forest residues and wood wastes as a feedstock and cheap renewable electricity from wind power makes it possible to produce green methanol with a competitive price, making Latvia is one of the most competitive countries in the EU.

In the European Union, the European Emissions Trading Scheme (EU-ETS) will come into effect in 2025, requiring shipping companies to purchase carbon credits for their greenhouse gas emissions.

In addition, the EU is implementing FuelEU Maritime, which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2% below the 2020 average by 2025 and 80% by 2050. This is expected to result in an energy transition to green methanol.

In July 2023, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopted a revised strategy that calls for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from ships to net-zero by or around 2050, and plans to introduce full-scale regulations from 2027, and shipping companies have begun ordering methanol-powered ships fueled by green methanol, a carbon-neutral fuel.

“We expect to start producing green methanol in Latvia in 2028, which will reduce greenhouse gas emissions from EU maritime transport vessels and contribute significantly to the revitalization of the Latvian economy and national energy security,” said John Kyung, CEO of PLAGEN.

In November 2024, PLAGEN completed the purchase of an industrial complex and received a government permit for the construction of the country's first green methanol plant in Dongjeom Industrial Complex in Taebaek City, Gangwon-do.

The project, which will produce 10,000 mt per year, is scheduled to begin construction in the first half of 2025 and begin production in the second half of 2027.

Photo credit: PLAGEN
Published: 2 December, 2024