TRADING firm Radiant World has alleged Glencore deliberately kept the “true nature” of their partnership out of its own audited books, according to the Financial Times citing a lawsuit seeking more than $2bn in damages from the Swiss commodities group.
In its response, Glencore said: “These claims are meritless and we will contest them vigorously. We have incurred losses and been exposed to risks by Radiant World companies and will take appropriate action.”
The iron ore trader claims Glencore’s official records never fully captured the private arrangements between the two companies, and that Glencore pushed for business to be conducted through face-to-face meetings and WhatsApp messages rather than paper trails.
Radiant argues this was a deliberate tactic, driven by the heightened compliance scrutiny Glencore faced after being investigated by the US Department of Justice. Sapphire Minmetals has joined Radiant in bringing the claim.
Glencore pointed to evidence it had showing that Radiant and related firms circulated falsified invoices, contracts and emails, wrongly attributed to Glencore staff, to a number of banks. It added that it is reviewing its past dealings with the companies involved.
The filing deepens a rift between Radiant, under growing pressure over allegedly fabricated trade documents, and Glencore, historically one of its largest counterparties and financiers.
Several banks and trading houses, Glencore among them, have already stopped doing business with Radiant over the same concerns, which the trader disputes.
Glencore has taken a $480m provision on its exposure, Bloomberg previously reported, one of its largest trading losses in its history as a public company. “We take these issues seriously and are conducting a review of our historic business activities with Radiant World, Sapphire Minmetals and associated companies,” it said.
