Investors launch legal investigation into OW Bunker collapse

In a statement issued by pension fund APT, jointly with other institutional investors, it said that they had appointed law firms Accura and Bruun & Hjejle assisted by audit firm EY to conduct an investigation into the bankruptcy.

OW Bunker listed on Copenhagen’s NASDAQ Exchange in March this year in an initial public offering (IPO) that valued the firm at $900m. The firm was declared bankrupt on 7 November just two days after it revealed $150m in risk management losses, and $125m loss from an alleged fraud at Singapore subsidiary Dynamic Oil Trading.

“The purpose of the investigation is to determine the possibility of asserting legal liability and claiming compensation,” the group of investors said.

“The bankruptcy of OW Bunker was a significant, extraordinary and highly negative event in the Danish stock market, and there is a very strong need for understanding the events preceding the bankruptcy and, if possible, determining responsibility.”

They said the investigation would focus on errors and flaws in the IPO prospectus as well as OW Bunker’s management’s liability for operations in the period from the IPO to bankruptcy.

The investors involved include ATP, PFA, AP Pension, DIP, Industriens Pension, JØP, Maj Invest, PensionDanmark and SEB.