Radiant World sues Glencore for $2 billion

Radiant World Corporation and other companies, including the iron ore trader, have filed a lawsuit in Singapore's High Court against commodities giant Glencore, seeking damages of more than $2 billion over allegations of fraud, breach of contract, and conspiracy.

According to a copy of the lawsuit filed on Tuesday, and seen by, Glencore intentionally concealed its trading arrangements with Radiant and related companies in its audited documents while it was under U.S. Justice Department Compliance Monitoring.

The company says that Glencore "directed these channels to ensure that the true commercial agreements would not be reflected on its audited accounts" following its guilty pleas of 2022 in the U.S. for commodity price manipulation charges and bribery.

According to the claim, the dispute concerns a 2021 incident where Glencore demanded that Radiant World pay $1.1 billion in mark-to-market exposure on derivatives positions, even though the practice was to rollover such losses.

Glencore extracted $800 million between 2021-2026 in?payments through a promise of a long term partnership, before abruptly ending the relationship this past year.

We will vigorously contest these claims, as they are without merit. Radiant World has exposed us to risk and caused losses. We will take the appropriate actions," Glencore stated in a Tuesday statement.

On Wednesday, the Singapore court website did not display a record of the filing.

Glencore of London, which announced in early August that it had made a provision for its exposure to Radiant World said it "stopped all work and terminated all commitments" with the firm.

Radiant World is facing mounting challenges since banks and counterparties have started to distance themselves over concerns that the invoices it provided to its bank may not be 'valid.

Singapore's Police Force said last month it was investigating Radiant World after receiving reports regarding the company. It did not give further details.

Radiant World denies any wrongdoing. It calls the claims inaccurate and unsubstantiated, and says it "conducts its business to the highest legal and commercial standards".

Radiant World's suit also claims that Glencore made damaging remarks to financial institutions as well as media outlets.

(source: Reuters)