The head of the subsidiary Dynamic Oil Trading is sentenced to prison for losses of 90 million dollars. The top of the OW Bunker Group was not aware of the huge risks, which were hidden in the bookkeeping, the court in Denmark states.
The bankrupt of the OW Bunker Group in 2014 has led to a series of claims for compensation. 2400 shareholders have joined together to bring an action for damages. The former director Lars Møller in the oil company OW Bunker’s subsidiary Dynamic Oil was liable for a loss of 90 million dollars. Lars Møller is sentenced to prison for a year and a half.
“There is no direct link between this criminal case and our case, but it may be interesting for us to read the verdict,” said Niels Mengel, acting chairman of the association OW Bunker-Investor, to Ritzau.
Lars Møller concealed a number of huge credits, which had been given to Tankoil. The companies traded oil with each other. The Group’s chief executive, Jim Pedersen, had granted a 10-million-dollar credit line, but Lars Møller crossed that line big time, the court established. The loss summed up to 90 million dollars – and that was a contributing factor to the OW Bunker collapse in November 2014.
During the case, Lars Møller has maintained his innocence and his defendants have said that responsibility for the huge losses in the OW Bunker Group must be placed elsewhere. The management knew all about the commercial risks that were taken, Lars Møller’s lawyer said.
The penalty also states that Lars Møller is not allowed to participate in the management of companies at home or abroad. The criminal case was raised because of the huge credit that Lars Møller had given Tankoil in Singapore. Mail from the CFO of Dynamic Oil Trading shows, according to the court, that Lars Møller was aware that a number of trades with Tankoil were not logged.
According to the court, Jim Pedersen was apparently misled. On November 5, both Lars Møller and Jim Pedersen travelled from Singapore to a crisis meeting in Denmark. There was an atmosphere of panic. At that point, Lars Møller admitted that credits of between 80 million and 125 million dollars were granted. Jim Pedersen considered this as fraud. Both Mr. Møller and Mr. Pedersen were deprived of their passports and expelled.
