A company in Middelfart had no idea that a Russian customer's order for many thousands of tons of aircraft fuel could end up in Syria. This was explained by the CEO of A/S Dan-Bunkering, Claus Bulch Klausen, during a hearing in the Court in Odense on Wednesday.
Here, his company and the parent company Bunker Holding are accused in a sensational case of having violated an EU ban on delivering jet fuel to Syria. The quantity reached 172,000 tons.
It was the Russian company Sovfracht that ordered the fuel from Dan-Bunkering. Sovfracht was the general agent for the Russian Navy. In the first of many orders, the fuel was to be loaded onto a ship in Limasol, Cyprus. When Dan-Bunkering asked where the fuel was going, senior prosecutor Andreas Laursen from the Danish Anti-Money Laundering Police wanted to know.
- Jet fuel is an easily tradable product that will often be sold while the ship is at sea, so the destination can change. It doesn't make much sense to ask about the destination, Claus Bulch Klausen replied.
The orders coincided in time with Russia's intervention in Syria. Were you aware of that?
- No, not as I recall.
Trying to assess the place of delivery
Claus Bulch Klausen explained that the company is trying to avoid violating sanctions by, among other things, looking at the place of delivery of the goods. And in the first transaction, it was Cyprus.
In addition, the prosecutor noted that there are only 135 nautical miles from Cyprus to Syria. Was there any reason to suspect that Sovfracht would ship it to Syria?
- No, there was no reason to suspect Sovfracht, said the director.
The agreements were made with Dan-Bunkering's office in Kaliningrad. Most of the deals involved approximately 5,000 tons. The prosecutor asked whether the office in Kaliningrad speculated on what the Russian navy would use 5,000 tons of jet fuel for in Cyprus?
- There was no dialogue between Kaliningrad and me. I was involved in some credit applications, but it was not something I skipped over, said the director.
The questioning continues on Thursday.
Ritzau
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