Trafigura

2023 - 2 - 10

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Image courtesy of "Trafigura"

Statement re Legal Action (Trafigura)

Trafigura recently discovered a systematic fraud committed by a group of companies connected to and apparently controlled by Mr Prateek Gupta including TMT ...

The Group’s net profits in the first half of its 2023 financial year are expected to exceed first half 2022 net profits, notwithstanding this impairment. Nonetheless, the Group recorded a USD577 million charge in the first half of 2023 for Trafigura Group Pte Ltd., estimated to be the maximum loss exposure related to this fraud. The fraud is isolated to one specific line of business.

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Image courtesy of "Bloomberg"

Commodity Trader Trafigura Faces $577 Million Loss After ... (Bloomberg)

Metal cargoes it bought didn't contain the metals they were supposed to.

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Image courtesy of "Financial Times"

Trafigura faces hit of up to $577mn over alleged nickel fraud (Financial Times)

Commodities trader discovers shipments it had purchased did not contain the metal.

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Image courtesy of "The Straits Times"

Singapore-based Trafigura faces $762m loss after uncovering nickel ... (The Straits Times)

The firm has spent the past two months uncovering what it believes is a systematic fraud against it. Read more at straitstimes.com.

“Since late December 2022, a small proportion of the containers purchased from these companies have been inspected as they reached their destination, and were found not to contain nickel,” Trafigura said in the statement. However, Trafigura said it does not believe that anyone at the company was complicit in the fraud. It has started legal action against Indian businessman Prateek Gupta and several companies connected to him including TMT Metals and subsidiaries of UD Trading Group, said Trafigura in a statement.

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Image courtesy of "CNA"

Trafigura to record $577 million charge after nickel fraud (CNA)

Global commodity trader Trafigura said on Thursday it booked a $577 million charge in the first half of 2023, after discovering that some nickel cargoes it ...

Carbon steel was among the materials found in the containers instead of nickel. Advertisement

Trafigura faces $577 million hit after shipments of nickel it bought did ... (Financial Post)

Trafigura, commodity trader, says shipments of nickel it bought did not contain the metal. Find out more.

Economou declined to comment. Metals trading has been stung by a number of frauds in recent years. Gupta’s companies and Trafigura traded about 25,000 tonnes of nickel but some of the cargoes were found to have held metal of far lower value than nickel, according to people familiar with the matter. TMT Metals, Gupta and UD Trading did not immediately respond to requests for comment. TMT Metals describes itself as a non-ferrous metals, minor metals and ferroalloys trading merchant. It added that a small proportion of containers purchased from these companies had been inspected since December and that they did not contain nickel.

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Image courtesy of "swissinfo.ch"

Commodities trader Trafigura stung by 'CHF500 million fraud' (swissinfo.ch)

Swiss commodities trader Trafigura says it has been defrauded to the tune of $577 billion by fake nickel shipments.

Trafigura has set aside the $577 million provision in expectation of the worst-case scenario. “The fraud concerns containerised nickel in transit during 2022 and involved misrepresentation and presentation of a variety of false documentation,” Trafigura said in a statement on Thursday. Swiss commodities trading company Trafigura says it has been defrauded to the tune of $577 million (CHF530 million) by fake nickel shipments.This content was published on February 9, 2023 - 19:04

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Image courtesy of "The Wall Street Journal"

Swiss Trader Trafigura Hit by Suspected Nickel Fraud, Says It Could ... (The Wall Street Journal)

The commodities trader said that some containers were found on arrival not to contain nickel.

What’s Actually Happening in the Jobs Market](https://www.wsj.com/articles/jobs-hiring-boom-layoffs-employment-11675947399?mod=trending_now_news_1) [Chinese Balloon Carried Equipment to Gather Intelligence, U.S. Even with the loss, Trafigura said it was on track to beat its profit from the first half of its last financial year, when it made a then-record $2.7 billion. Says](https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinese-balloon-carried-antennas-other-equipment-to-gather-intelligence-u-s-says-11675953033?mod=trending_now_news_2) [A Second New Jersey Council Member Fatally Shot This Month](https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-jersey-council-member-shooting-russell-heller-11675953967?mod=trending_now_news_3) [The Secret to Being a Star at Work Right Now](https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-secret-to-being-a-star-at-work-right-now-11675910488?mod=trending_now_news_4) [Silicon Valley’s Newest ‘It’ Couple Is Going Big on Real Estate. A spate of alleged frauds came to light in 2020 when commodity prices tanked at the start of the pandemic. The blowup, in turn, Trafigura weathered a crisis at the start of 2022 when it dashed Nickel is still a tiny market in comparison with more actively traded metals such as copper and aluminum, let alone oil. [collapse of Singaporean oil merchant](https://www.wsj.com/articles/massive-forgery-helped-hide-3-billion-hole-in-energy-traders-books-11592993288?mod=article_inline) Hin Leong Trading Pte. The perpetrators of the alleged fraud, according to Trafigura: companies it believed were controlled by the metals trader Prateek Gupta, including TMT Metals and subsidiaries of UD Trading Group. When it opened them, they didn’t contain nickel, a silvery-looking metal that fetches around $30,000 a metric ton and whose price has shot up in line with demand for EVs. Gupta and the companies. Like other trading houses and miners, Trafigura has raced to tap into growing demand for nickel, which is vital in producing batteries for electric vehicles.

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Image courtesy of "MINING.com"

Trafigura faces $577 million loss on alleged nickel fraud (MINING.com)

Commodities trader Trafigura Group will take an almost half a billion dollars charge in first half of 2023, after discovering that some nickel cargoes it ...

“The majority of the shipments remain in transit awaiting further inspection.” Missing metals from orders is, unfortunately, nothing new. This culminated in March last year in chaotic trade, with prices soaring

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Image courtesy of "Lloyd's List"

Trafigura writes off $577m over alleged nickel shipping fraud (Lloyd's List)

The group remains committed to building its presence in the fast-growing battery metals markets. London-based TMT Metals and UD Trading Group, which have ...

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Image courtesy of "Bloomberg"

Trafigura Tells Its Banks They Aren't Exposed to Nickel Fraud (Bloomberg)

Trafigura Group is briefing lenders that none of its banks have direct exposure to the nickel deals at the center of what the commodity trader is calling a ...

Commodity Trader Trafigura Faces $577 Million Loss After ... (Insurance Journal)

Commodity trader Trafigura Group is facing more than half a billion dollars in losses after discovering metal cargoes it bought didn't contain the nickel.

“Since late December 2022, a small proportion of the containers purchased from these companies have been inspected as they reached their destination, and were found not to contain nickel,” Trafigura said in the statement. It will put further pressure on Trafigura’s metals unit, already outshone by the company’s energy traders. The group’s head of nickel and cobalt trading, Socrates Economou, is leaving the company, according to people familiar with the matter. Trafigura has been trading with Gupta’s companies since at least 2015, but started reviewing the relationship last year, the people said. It’s also another black mark for the metals-trading industry, which in recent years has been beset by tales of fake warehouse receipts, duplicate shipping documents and containers filled with painted rocks. Trafigura has spent the past two months uncovering what it believes is a systematic fraud against it.

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