Glencore has accused former trading partner Radiant World of sending falsified invoices to lenders, as 11 Radiant World-linked entities filed a S$2.5 billion (US$2 billion) claim against three Glencore units in Singapore — a fight that has already cost the Swiss commodities giant a US$480 million provision.
The suit, lodged on September 15 by entities across Singapore, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates and Switzerland, targets three Glencore units, with a first case conference set for October 21. Glencore said it had ended all business with Radiant World and associated companies including Sapphire Minimetals, and directly alleged fraud for the first time, saying it had “confirmed evidence” that they sent falsified invoices, contracts and fabricated emails to financial institutions while claiming these came from Glencore staff. “These claims are meritless and we will contest them vigorously,” Glencore said. The company has taken a US$480 million provision on its Radiant World exposure — among the largest trading losses in its history as a listed company — and says it is reviewing its historic dealings with the group.
Radiant World has come under mounting pressure since banks and counterparties began distancing themselves over concerns that invoices provided to its banks may not have been valid, which it denies. A Singapore court ordered that the iron-ore trader be placed under the interim management of KPMG, granting an application by creditor Mizuho Bank, which has accused the trader of alleged fraud linked to iron-ore receivables. KPMG restructuring executives Toh Ai Ling, Adrian Chan and Tan Yen Chiaw were appointed interim judicial managers of Radiant World Corporation, the group’s main operating unit — a decision that strips founder Pinkesh Nahar of control over the group’s key entity.
Mizuho Bank had in June provided some US$100 million in credit to Radiant World secured by invoices that a counterparty later said were invalid, and filed its case in Singapore’s Supreme Court in August. A fund linked to US bank Jefferies has obtained freezing orders from courts in the UK, Hong Kong and Singapore against Radiant World and Nahar. Singapore’s police force said it was investigating Radiant World after receiving reports, and the US Department of Justice is also carrying out investigations, Bloomberg has reported.
The legal pile-on keeps growing. Incomlend, a Singapore trade-finance platform registered as a creditor of Radiant World, is suing the company and Nahar in the High Court for over S$34 million, with Amit Sharma, managing director of private investment firm Tanas Capital, also named as a defendant; Nahar is listed in corporate filings as a director of Tanas Capital. The case is listed as “tort of deceit conspiracy by unlawful means.”
Glencore was for years Radiant World’s principal backer, helping it secure financing and acquiring warrants giving it the option of a minority stake. A letter from Radiant World’s lawyers cited a November 2024 message from Peter Hill, Glencore’s head of steelmaking raw materials, saying Glencore had “basically bankrolled your entire existence for the last few years.” South African-born billionaire Ivan Glasenberg, who ran Glencore from 2002 until 2021, remains its largest individual shareholder with about 1.219 billion shares and bears the losses proportionally, though he has not been accused of any wrongdoing. Radiant World has said there is no need for judicial managers because it is not insolvent — a claim the court has now overruled, opening a new chapter in a saga gripping the global commodities industry.