AsiaBunkeringRegulatory

Former KPI Bridge Oil trader and Straits Bunkering director charged for corruption in Singapore

Singapore authorities have charged two individuals in court, a former trader at KPI Bridge Oil and the director of Straits Bunkering, for alleged bribery in relation to the trade and supply of bunker fuel.

According to the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB), Afzal Bin Mohamed Ekbar, a bunker trader at KPI Bridge Oil Singapore at the time, had allegedly obtained at least $191,250 on multiple occasions between 2017 and 2018 from the director of Straits Bunkering, Shafiq Bin Nezammuddin, for nominating Straits for the supply of bunker fuel to KPI’s customers.

“Afzal had also allegedly obtained a gratification in the form of a S$90,000 ($67,000) loan from Shafiq as an inducement for the same purpose,” CPIB said. For their actions, Afzal and Shafiq will each face three charges.

In addition, Afzal had allegedly given gratifications totalling at least $167,000 to other individuals on multiple occasions as inducements or rewards for them to place orders with KPI for the supply of bunker fuel. For his actions, Afzal will face nine additional charges, the statement said.

The world’s largest bunkering hub has been strictening its policy to enhance transparency in the bunkering process. Most recently, nine people were jailed for up to 35 months for cheating buyers of marine fuel oil worth around $337,000.

Adis Ajdin

Adis is an experienced news reporter with a background in finance, media and education. He has written across the spectrum of offshore energy and ocean industries for many years and is a member of International Federation of Journalists. Previously he had written for Navingo media group titles including Offshore Energy, Subsea World News and Marine Energy.

Comments

  1. The hub is tainted with dirty money for decades. If really scrutinized all bunker trader, no one will be able to say; I am clean. Even ocean tankers for how long have been cheating. Even the big four auditor collect gratification from them and issue clean bill of health. Period!

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