Only an advisory function. This is how the defense attorney for the Funen-based company Bunker Holding describes the role the company has had in relation to subsidiary Dan-Bunkering's sale of jet fuel, which, according to the Danish Criminal Police, ended in the war in Syria.
Bunkering Holding and its CEO, Keld Demant, have been indicted at the Court in Odense, together with Dan-Bunkering, for violating EU sanctions by selling many thousands of tons of fuel. They will all be acquitted.
- All witnesses who have been here have spoken about advice, advice and nothing else, says Henrik Sanders, who is the defense attorney for Bunker Holding, and later adds:
- Even when Bunker Holding provides legal assistance, the responsibility still lies with the relevant subsidiary - in this case Dan-Bunkering.
The lawyer will speak in the Court in Odense on Wednesday morning, and he points out that the transactions were made by Dan-Bunkering.
- There is no credit assistance from Bunker Holding at all, says Henrik Sanders.
Dan-Bunkering began selling jet fuel to a Russian company in 2015, just when Russia intervened in the civil war and helped President Assad to victory.
The deliveries went to refuel Russian planes that bombed in Syria, according to the Bagmandspolitiet. However, the defendants deny that there is evidence that the deliveries ended up in Syria.
According to the indictment, there were a total of 33 transactions involving jet fuel. Bunker Holding is accused of having participated in the last eight transactions.
Demands millions in fines and prison sentences
The fraud police are demanding that Dan-Bunkering be fined 319 million kroner and the parent company Bunker Holding be fined 81 million kroner.
This corresponds to half of the amount for which the jet fuel was sold - i.e. the transaction amount. The prosecutor has, among other things, compared the assessment to how it is done in money laundering cases.
However, if a fine is to be imposed, the defense in the case believes that it should be measured based on what the profit from the sale was. Otherwise, the sale of more expensive products with a small profit will be punished more severely than the sale of cheap ones with a large profit.
As for Bunker Holding, defense attorney Henrik Sanders believes that the company - in the event of a verdict - should not pay a fine, since according to him it has not earned anything.
- There is no doubt that the specific earnings are recorded in Dan-Bunkering. This also applies to the turnover, he says.
In addition to the fines, the fraud police want to confiscate the profits from the sales. According to the prosecutor, Bunker Holding's CEO, Keld Demant, should be sentenced to around two years in prison. The director's defense attorney, Hanne Rahbæk, began her proceedings against Henrik Sanders on Wednesday. She wants Keld Demant acquitted.
Ritzau
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