Troubled oil trader ZenRock's IJMs uncover doubtful, 'unusually large cash transactions'

THE interim judicial managers (IJMs) of Singapore's troubled ZenRock Commodities Trading have uncovered hundreds of "questionable" transactions involving duplicate sales invoices, as well as multiple back-to-back "side transactions" and "unusually large cash transactions" following a scrutiny into the trader's affairs.

Over the past two years, ZenRock conducted more than 200 transactions in which the same sales invoice with identical sales contracts were provided to obtain two sets of letter-of-credit (LC) financing for essentially the same transaction, says a damning report by KPMG's Martin Wong, Bob Yap and Toh Ai Ling, the court-appointed IJMs for ZenRock.

The IJM report was submitted in the Singapore High Court on Monday in a hearing that lasted under an hour before judge Pang Khang Chau. Sarjit Singh Gill SC and Daniel Tan from Shook Lin & Bok were lead counsel for HSBC.