The legal director of Bunker Holding A/S had no idea that a subsidiary's massive sale of jet fuel could end up in Syria. The explanation from lawyer Finn Hansen comes during a hearing on Wednesday at the Court in Odense.
The ninth court hearing is being held here in the case of a possible breach of EU sanctions, which prohibit deliveries of jet fuel to Syria. Finn Hansen was the chief legal officer when the subsidiary Dan-Bunkering sold jet fuel for DKK 648 million. kr.
At Bunker Holding on Strandvejen in Middelfart, he was mainly involved in assessing risks in transactions and attempts to chase customers who did not pay around the world.
- If I had had any idea that these transactions ended up in Syria, I would have called the shots, says Finn Hansen during the interrogation.
- It has not occurred to me that it could be an issue, he says.
He describes himself as the cautious type. And that he possibly sometimes saw ghosts when he warned internally about risks of various kinds when transactions were entered into. Internally, Finn Hansen taught the company's traders how to check sanctions from the UN, the US and the US when they do business.
The jet fuel was sold to companies that represent the Russian Navy. It was pumped onto tankers in Cyprus and elsewhere in the eastern Mediterranean. But the geography - i.e. the short distance to Syria - did not give cause for concern about what the Russians would use jet fuel for here, explains Finn Hansen.
Continued after warning
Another witness on Wednesday is the former director of Dan-Bunkering. Henrik Zederkof is asked about his reaction when the Danish Business Authority went to the company on Christmas Eve 2016 with a suspicion of violating sanctions.
- I thought what the fuck!
After the warning, the company continued with a series of transactions. Henrik Zederkof explains that he believed that a lawyer in the parent company Bunker Holding had given the green light. A clause could settle the matter. A prosecutor asks the former CEO who is responsible for ensuring that one acts correctly and legally.
- It lies with Bunker Holding, Henrik Zederkof answers, thus pointing towards the parent company.
The police went into action with searches in Middelfart in September 2019. At the same time, there were telephone tappings. Including of the companies' founder, Torben Østergaard-Nielsen, who according to a calculation in Berlingske is the sixth richest man in Denmark.
Ritzau
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