Vitol, Cargill, Glencore cut ties with Radiant World, Bloomberg News reports
Major Trading Houses End Business with Radiant World
Background and Immediate Actions
July 31 (Reuters) - Vitol Group and Cargill have stopped trading with Radiant World, one of the world's largest iron ore traders, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, adding that Glencore is no longer doing new business with the company.
Concerns Over Documentation
Two of the trading houses saw invoices or other documents that Radiant World had provided to its banks that were not valid, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter. The third trading house pulled out after being informed about concerns over falsified documents, Bloomberg reported.
Radiant World’s Response
Official Statement
Radiant World said in a statement its business continued to operate normally and its policy prevented it from commenting on "purported discussions involving specific customers, suppliers, lenders".
"We continue to execute physical commodity transactions across our global platform, maintain longstanding relationships with our commercial and financing partners, and remain focused on serving our customers," it said.
Denial of Allegations
"The claims are inaccurate and unsubstantiated. Radiant World conducts its business to the highest commercial and legal standards and complies with all due diligence requirements with its lending partners," it added.
Financial Exposure and Reactions
Creditors Reviewing Exposure
Bloomberg said that at least two creditors, Italy's biggest bank Intesa Sanpaolo and Jefferies Financial Group's Point Bonita fund, are reviewing their exposure to the company.
Intesa Sanpaolo’s Position
An Intesa spokesperson told Reuters that the lender had booked provisions on an exposure worth €200 million ($230 million) to Radiant World.
Jefferies Financial Group’s Exposure
Jefferies has trade finance-related exposure of about $300 million to Radiant World through its Point Bonita fund, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Jefferies is investigating the matter, taking no provisions and expects to get paid, the source said. If there are losses it is manageable for the firm, the source told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
Impact on Financial Guidance
The Intesa spokesperson said the position with Radiant is now largely covered and there is no impact on the bank's 2026 net profit, for which Intesa provided new guidance on Wednesday.
Comments from Involved Parties
Jefferies, Glencore and Vitol declined to comment. Cargill did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
($1 = 0.8707 euros)
(Reporting by Kanjyik Ghosh, Valentina Za and Saeed Azhar; Editing by Louise Heavens, Jan Harvey and Susan Fenton)
