Vitol, Cargill, Glencore cut ties with Radiant World - report
Major Trading Houses and Financial Institutions Respond to Radiant World Allegations
Trading Houses Cease Business with Radiant World
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.
Two of the trading houses saw invoices or other documents that Radiant World had provided to its banks that were not valid, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The third trading house pulled out after being informed about concerns over falsified documents, the report said.
Radiant World's Response to Allegations
Radiant World told Reuters in a statement that "the claims are inaccurate and unsubstantiated" and it continued to operate normally.
"Radiant World conducts its business to the highest commercial and legal standards and complies with all due diligence requirements with its lending partners," it said.
Radiant World said 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.
Financial Institutions Review Exposure
Creditors Assess Risks
The Bloomberg report said at least two creditors, Italy's biggest bank, Intesa Sanpaolo and Jefferies Financial Group's Point Bonita fund, are reviewing their exposure to Radiant World.
Official Statements from Involved Parties
Jefferies and Vitol declined to comment. Cargill did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Glencore is monitoring the situation very carefully and is not entering into any new business with Radiant World, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Intesa Sanpaolo's Position
An Intesa spokesperson told Reuters that it had booked provisions on an exposure worth €200 million ($230 million) to Radiant World. The position with Radiant World is now largely covered, the spokesperson said, adding there is no impact on the bank's 2026 net profit, for which Intesa provided new guidance on Wednesday.
Jefferies Financial Group's Exposure
Details on Trade-Finance Exposure
Jefferies has trade-finance-related exposure of about $300 million to Radiant World through its Point Bonita fund, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
Jefferies' Response and Outlook
Jefferies is investigating the matter, is taking no provisions and expects to get paid, the source said. If there are losses it is manageable for the firm, the source said.
Additional Information
($1 = 0.8707 euros)
(Reporting by Kanjyik Ghosh, Valentina Za, Saeed Azhar and Pratima Desai; Editing by Louise Heavens, Jan Harvey, Susan Fenton and Alexander Smith)
