The world’s largest bunker supplier OW-Bunker* is broke and has filed for insolvency in recent days. According to the press, the Danish company has stumbled because of a fraud in its own ranks. According to information, one of the Group’s companies in Singapore was involved in a fraud case involving high-ranking employees and the damage amounts to at least 100 million euros.
OW-Bunker Bankruptcy: Risks with old contracts
Companies that have concluded contracts with OW-Bunker or received deliveries of bunker stocks in recent weeks are now called for increased caution. Careful consideration must be given to whom payments can still be made. In the worst case, there is a risk of double recourse if the wrong party is paid. Especially in the bunker business, the contractual relationships between seller and supplier are often somewhat opaque.
Even in the context of old contracts for which payments have already been made, there is now a risk that insolvency administrators will still challenge old payments and demand a new payment if necessary. Since large sums are often involved in the bunker business, this may also place a heavy burden on other companies in the shipping industry.
In this context, reference should also be made to so-called “ominbus security agreements”, which partly require companies to pay to a bank, which has to be valued with considerable uncertainty because it may remain unclear who is the correct creditor.
If you have also concluded contracts with OW-Bunker, please contact us to minimize the legal risks in your situation * O&W Attorneys at Law are not affiliated with or have a direct or indirect business connection to OW-Bunker. The similarity of the names is random.Dieser Artikel wurde am 15. August 2018 erstellt. Er wurde am 16. July 2020 aktualisiert. Die fachliche Zweitprüfung hat Rechtsanwalt Dr. Tristan Wegner durchgeführt.
