Switzerland's Mercuria Energy Group, the world's leading energy and commodities trading giant, bought $36 million worth of brass from a Turkish company, but when the goods arrived at their destination, containers that were supposed to fill brass were all repackaged into stone painted with metallic paint.
Swiss Mercury Energy Group
This event, like the "stealing the day" plot in a Hollywood movie, is now staged in the real world. Foreign media reported on March 9 that the Turkish police said it was an organized crime and had detained 13 people related to the brass transfer case.
Before the cargo left a port near Istanbul, Turkey, about 6,000 tons of brass had been repackaged and replaced with stone painted with metallic pigments, Mercury said.
Sinan Borovali, a lawyer for Mercury, said It had agreed in June last year to buy brass from a company called Bietsan, with which it had previously done business with the Turkish supplier.
The brass inside the container was replaced with painted stones
The brass was loaded into the first wholesale container, Borovali said, and then inspected by an inspection company and secured to the container with a security seal. But under the cover of night, someone opened the container and replaced the brass with stone. To avoid detection, the package adjuster also replaces the real seal with a fake seal.
When the cargo ship leaves the Maport docks in Ambali Port every few days, the same thing happens again: copper is secretly unloaded at night and replaced with stone. "That's what they did," Borovali said.
Documents provided by Mercury to Turkish investigators show that Mercury paid a total of $36 million to Bietsan in five installments after the vessels went to sea, with the last payment being made on August 20, 2020. The transfer was not detected until later that month when two ships arrived at the destination port. At that time, all 8 ships had already set sail on their way to their destination.
All 8 ships have set sail for their destinations
Turkish police said in a statement: "The buyer has filed a petition for criminal investigation against the seller and two intermediaries. "It has been established that this incident was organized fraud."
Typically, traders can make claims under cargo insurance policies. But Mercury found that only one of the seven insurance contracts used by Bietsan was genuine, and the rest were forgeries.
Mercury has filed criminal proceedings in Turkey, alleging Thatsan's cargo suspected of cargo transfer and insurance fraud. Bietsan has yet to respond formally.
A total of 13 suspects were detained in a series of police raids this month. The judiciary is expected to hold more hearings on the case starting this week.
Nandu reporter Shi Minglei