Danish marine fuel supplier OW Bunker A/S has filed for bankruptcy less than 48 hours after its world was rocked by an alleged $125 million bunker fraud scandal uncovered at its Singapore-based subsidiary Dynamic Oil Trading (DOT).
A statement from OW Bunker late Friday said the company has no choice but to file for bankruptcy. Its subsidiaries O.W. Bunker & Trading A/S and O.W. Supply & Trading A/S have also filed.
Following an internal investigation within the company, OW Bunker says it has decided to report two senior employees of DOT to the police pursuant to section 299 of the Danish penal code and has relieved them of duty immediately.
Chairman of the Board of Directors, Niels Henrik Jensen commented: “Since the credit facility was closed down on Wednesday, the underlying business has eroded significantly. The banks hold mortgage over all receivables and consequently, without the provision of new, significant credit facilities in the immediate future, it is not possible to save the remaining business.
“It is now clear that such facilities will not be made available. Nor is a sale as going concern a realistic option. We are therefore left with no option but to file for bankruptcy. On behalf of the entire board of directors and management, we deeply regret this outcome and the consequences affecting the company, its employees, shareholders and business partners.”
An update added that the probate court in Aalborg in northern Denmark has already issued a bankruptcy order in OW Bunker A/S. Pernille Bigaard, Plesner and John Sommer Schmidt, Gorrissen Federspiel have been appointed as trustees of the bankruptcy estate.
The bankruptcy of OW Bunker A/S comes just eight months after the company’s initial public offering on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange (NASDAQ OMX Copenhagen) that valued the company at almost $1 billion, making it Denmark’s second biggest IPO since 2010.
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