SINGAPORE: UAE-based oil trader GP Global has uncovered fraud within the company and filed criminal complaints against some of its employees, its legal representative said in a letter to the company’s clients on its behalf.
“A few employees have colluded with external entities using the coronavirus (lockdown) and work from home arrangement to defraud the company and its customers,” Arun Abraham, legal consultant and partner at UAE-based Salam Advocates & Legal Consultants said in the letter reviewed by Reuters.
Salam Advocates were advising GP Global on “the internal investigation that was underway,” Abraham said, confirming that the letter had been sent out to some of GP Global’s clients last week.
Based on preliminary investigations, “criminal complaints have been filed against few employees in Sharjah and Fujairah,” Abraham said in the letter.
The internal investigations revealed that “the fraudsters manipulated records that switched the cargo under the custodianship of GP with those goods financed by various banks and under CMA (collateral management agreement),” according to the letter.
A detailed investigation is continuing on the methods of the fraud, “the individuals and entities involved, and the impact of the fraud” on GP’s business, the company’s letter said.
GP Global, a supplier of marine fuels worldwide with offices in Europe, Asia and the US, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
On July 20, GP Global said that it had undertaken a “financial restructuring exercise” after it failed to “get full support from a few financial institutions recently.”
GP Global had also said that recent market rumors questioning the company’s financial condition were “blatant lies” being spread by “vested interests” and assured stakeholders its business was operating normally.
UAE oil trader GP Global files complaints over employee fraud
https://arab.news/z9nmf
UAE oil trader GP Global files complaints over employee fraud
- ‘A few employees have colluded with external entities using the coronavirus lockdown to defraud the company and its customers.’
Gold rises on Iran war safe-haven bid; firm dollar limits upside
BENGALURU: Gold prices rose on March 5, lifted by safe-haven demand amid an escalating war in the Middle East, while a stronger dollar and concerns around the US Federal Reserve’s monetary policy capped gains.
Spot gold was up 0.6 percent at $5,168.43 per ounce, as of 11:55 am Saudi time. US gold futures for April delivery were up 0.9 percent at $5,179.20.
Israel launched a large wave of strikes on Tehran on March 5, targeting what it said was infrastructure belonging to the Iranian authorities, after Iranian missiles sent millions of Israelis rushing into bomb shelters.
“On the one hand, there may be greater safe-haven demand for gold given the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. On the other hand, the risk of a prolonged period of higher energy prices that takes rate cuts off the table, and adds to the chance of rate hikes, could be capping further gains,” said Hamad Hussain, a climate and commodities economist at Capital Economics.
The US dollar rose about 0.3 percent after briefly retreating from three-month highs, as the fallout from the war roiled global markets and kept sentiment fragile.
Concerns about energy supply continued to drive up oil prices and stoke inflation fears.
Gold is considered a hedge against inflation in the long run, but also tends to thrive when interest rates are lower, as it is a non-yielding asset.
President Donald Trump, on March 4, officially nominated former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh to be the US central bank’s next chair.
US economic activity grew slightly, prices continued to increase and employment levels were stable in recent weeks, the Federal Reserve said on Wednesday in its latest “Beige Book” report.
Markets expect the Fed to keep rates steady at its next policy meeting on March 18, according to CME Group’s FedWatch tool.
Investors are looking out for the weekly US jobless claims data, due later today, and the US employment report for February on March 6 for further clues on monetary policy this year.
Spot silver rose 0.5 percent to $83.80 per ounce. Platinum gained 1.1 percent to $2,172.20, while palladium lost 0.7 percent to $1,662.07.
