Business

Dan-Bunkering trial: Prosecutors question Bunker Holding CEO Keld Demant

Secret wiretaps reveal mail warning ‘overwhelming probability’ of jet fuel ending up in Syria was omitted during internal investigations of Dan-Bunkering.

Published

3 years ago

November 11, 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 seventh day of the Dan-Bunkering trial, regarding alleged violations of EU Syria sanctions, took place on Tuesday (9 November) at the High Court in Odense, according to DR.

The day’s main activity revolved around prosecutors questioning Keld Demant, CEO of Bunker Holding and Chairman of the board at Dan-Bunkering. Keld Demant has been charged in the case against Dan-Bunkering for breach of the EU sanctions, and the prosecution is demanding that he be sentenced to prison.

During the interrogation, Senior Prosecutor Andreas Laursen focused on a number of pieces of information that had reached the top director. It was information that the prosecutor believed warned the director Dan-Bunkering was involved in - or could be involved in - illegal deliveries of jet fuel to Syria.

Keld Demant did not investigate inquiries himself, but trusted the employees

In Christmas 2016, Dan-Bunkering received an inquiry from the Danish Business Authority. The agency, which monitors whether Danish companies comply with sanctions, directly asked Dan-Bunkering if the company was in the process of supplying jet fuel as it will be in breach of sanctions if the product ended in Syria.

The inquiry went on to Bunker Holding CEO, Keld Demant, who believed he did exactly what he was supposed to do.

Keld Demant: I have asked my people to investigate the matter and respond the authorities at the agreed time correctly and accurately

The internal investigation in Dan-Bunkering showed the company supplied jet fuel to two Russian companies and that it was delivered to ports in the Mediterranean. At the time, Russian bombers were carrying out attacks in Syria, the prosecutor said during the interrogation.

Andreas Laursen: Do you not relate to the content of the case?

Keld Demant did not.

Keld Demant: I have 100% confidence in the people who work with it. Trust cannot be graded. That's 100%.

According to Keld Demant, no one in the company was in doubt that the legislation should always be followed. And he was convinced his employees took care of that, also in the case of jet fuel.

Keld Demant: It was a serious case and it was also taken seriously.

Mail on jet fuel to Syria

At the end of January 2017, Dan-Bunkering wrote in a reply to the Danish Business Authority that there was no indication the company was supplying jet fuel that ended up in Syria.

Shortly after, Dan-Bunkering would resume deliveries of jet fuel to the Russian customer.

But a legal adviser in the group, Casper Dybdal, warned about this in an email to which the prosecutors returned to repeatedly in the trial.

In the email to Keld Demant and three other directors, the adviser wrote that “we have now been made aware that the product will most likely end up in Syria. What is your take on it?”

In court, the prosecutor asked Keld Demant how he responded to the email. The response from the CEO was that he had been told by his people that they had investigated the matter and that nothing was wrong.

Deliveries of jet fuel continued in the following months after Dan-Bunkering introduced a clause in the agreements with the Russian customer that there must be no breach of sanctions. But the consequences of continuing deliveries were not taken into account by Bunker Holding’s CEO.

Andreas Laursen: When you think about the consequence of making a wrong decision and violating sanctions, then that decision should not be around you?
Keld Demant: On the basis of all the information that has come and that the case has been thoroughly investigated and a lot of energy has been used to find out what is up and down, so no.

Keld Demant also stressed that he leads a very large group with over 50 subsidiaries, and all employees of Bunker Holding have undergone a module regarding sanctions compliance. Further, Keld Demant said he has never been involved in individual trades.

Mail with warning omitted by internal investigation

The two senior plaintiffs in the case had said in advance that during the interrogation of the top director, they would play audio clips from secret wiretaps made by the Special Economic and International Crime (SØIK) police.

The wiretaps took place in the fall of 2019 around the time SØIK conducted a search of Dan-Bunkering’s headquarters.

In court, the prosecutors played a short clip from a telephone conversation between Keld Demant and his then personal assistant, who is also the daughter of the group's owner, Torben Østergaard-Nielsen.

In the conversation, Keld Demant talks about some emails that he has reviewed with the group's legal adviser, Casper Dybdal, and that they agreed that those emails “should stay there”.

The prosecutor wanted to know what it was all about and Keld Demant explained it was about the mail that had previously been presented in court. In the email, Casper Dybdal wrote Dan-Bunkering has been made aware the jet fuel has an “overwhelming probability” of ending up in Syria.

That email should not be part of an internal investigation launched by the case, Keld Demant said in court. That was what he told his assistant in the intercepted phone call, because she was nervous that the legal adviser would be personally offended by it.

Keld Demant: The email has no bearing on the case, so it should not be included in the investigation.
Prosecutor: Where should the email be?
Keld Demant: Now I answer in the same way. It should not be included in the investigation.

Keld Demant explained the internal investigation of Dan-Bunkering was launched after SØIK charged the company in September 2019.

Keld Demant: The result of the internal investigation is that Dan-Bunkering and Bunker Holding have not done anything wrong.

The trial is set to continue next week, and a verdict is expected before Christmas.

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

Photo credit: Bunker Holding
Source: DR
Published: 11 November, 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

Admin

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

Admin

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

Admin

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