In a statement the former board denied knowledge of the loan, which along with $150m in risk management losses led to collapse of the Danish bunker company.
“The unrecoverable credit granted by Dynamic Oil Trading to Tankoil, currently estimated by management to be somewhere between $120 – 130m, was never submitted to the board, let alone authorised by it," the former of OW Bunker said in the statement.
It said that Dynamic was subject to the same corporate governance rules as OW Bunker that no credit above $10m could be granted without prior approval of the board of directors. It said the credit policy described in its IPO prospectus had been unchnaged since long before the IPO.
”The board is as shocked and amazed as everyone else that the losses we have seen on risk management and receivables in the subsidiary, Dynamic Oil Trading, were even possible," said Niels Henrik Jensen, former chairman of OW Bunker.
The former board of OW stated: "The entire board of directors was proud to lead the company through to initial public offering at the Copenhagen Stock Exchange. Very soon, however, without warning, the company found itself in extremely difficult circumstances and ultimately bankrupt. It remains unclear to the board how this could happen, and the board is looking very much forward to an in-depth investigation into the course of events.”
On the issue of the $150m risk management loss, which was revealed at the same time as the $125m loss at Dynamic, it said the board had not approved any deviation from the risk management policy, systems and control procedures described in the IPO prospectus.
"The board of directors was extremely surprised to learn of the $150m loss on risk management, an absolutely unheard-of figure in the group's long history of risk management, and is awaiting an explanation as soon as possible.
"The board of directors is currently trying, via the trustee of the estate, to gain access to the company's IT systems to scrutinize the positions that resulted in the loss."
Copyright © 2024. All rights reserved. Seatrade, a trading name of Informa Markets (UK) Limited. Add Seatrade Maritime News to your Google News feed.
