Internationally renowned commodities trader Mercuria has been hit by a scam. After 300 containers from Turkey arrived in China, they were found to have been swapped: 6,000 tons of copper were replaced by red-painted stones.
Internationally renowned commodities trader Mercuria was caught in a scam. After 300 containers from Turkey arrived in China, they were found to have been swapped: 6,000 tons of copper were replaced by red-painted rocks.
Bloomberg Bloomberg News was the first to reveal this week that Mercuria, a well-known international trader of commodities based in Geneva, Switzerland, had recently been involved in a scam. Mercuria was recently involved in an unbelievable scam. 6,000 tons of copper purchased in Turkey was inspected and loaded at the port of Ambarli, and 300 containers were found to have been swapped with red-painted stones only after they arrived at a Chinese port. This scam once again reveals the huge risks involved in international trade.
RFI archived photo: Istanbul, Turkey
In its “Chronique des Matières Premières” (March 12, 2021), RFI-France published a follow-up report by Marie-Pierre Olphand, a journalist involved in the international trade of commodities. The story is about an unbelievable scam recently perpetrated by Mercuria, an international trading company in commodities, to the tune of $36 million.
A brief overview of the Mercury case
This case took place in 2020. 300 containers of copper were emptied at the Turkish port of Ambarli, near Istanbul, before being sealed and inspected by a specialized company and replaced with red-painted rocks. From the seals alone, there appears to be no difference. After the containers went to sea, the Swiss trader paid $36 million in accordance with the contract. A month later, after the first port call in China, it was discovered to have been swapped.
Several banks had similar experiences
What is unusual about the Mercure case is the size of the stolen goods, but such cases are not uncommon. In 2008, Société Générale filed a complaint against a Turkish jeweler looking for 15 tons of stolen Gold, and in 2017, Natixis filed a judicial case against a shipment of nickel stored in China with false documents, involving $32 million. .
Financial risks of international trade
Forged certificates and multiple sales are common forgeries, but in the case of metals trading, there are cases where the quality of the goods does not match the reality. One industry source explained that counterfeiting is becoming more and more elaborate, but difficult to prevent. Others say that this is an occupational risk, since raw materials often come from countries where rules lack transparency and facilitate speculation.
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