There is so much doubt about the basis for a criminal case about large deliveries of fuel for the war in Syria that the defendant companies and a director want the Court in Odense to slow down. The court should ask the Court of Justice of the EU before the case continues.
The request for referral to the court in Luxembourg was raised on Wednesday by the defenders of Dan-Bunkering, Bunker Holding and the CEO Keld R. Demant.
The companies are accused of having violated an EU regulation when 172,000 tons of jet fuel were sold. The customer was the Russian military. And the fuel ended up in Syria, according to the Danish Criminal Police.
The deliveries from ports, especially in Cyprus and Greece, began in the fall of 2015. It was at that time that the Russian Air Force entered the civil war on the side of President Assad.
The court in Odense has seen documents about transports on the tankers "Yaz" and "Mukhalatka", which allegedly sailed the goods to the port city of Banias near the base used by the Russian bombers.
Since October 26, a series of witness statements have been given, and the court has also been presented with emails and wiretaps. But now the European Court of Justice should take action, the defenders believe, because the court needs authoritative answers on how Regulation 1323 from 2014 should be understood.
The case could be delayed for months
Attorney Jacob Skude Rasmussen said in the court hearing on Wednesday that there are three fundamental questions that need clarification.
The first is about how to understand the regulation's words about "direct or indirect" deliveries. The second is to clarify whether the regulation also includes deliveries to the Russian military.
And the last is about what is legally called the "attribution requirement". Whether the regulation targets both intentional and negligent violations.
If the court agrees to a referral to the Court of Justice of the EU, the criminal case will probably remain dormant for several months.
Ritzau
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