ZCZC
BCN-16
JAPAN-FINANCE-MITSUBISHICORP-TRADING-OIL
Mitsubishi Corp unit loses $320 million on unauthorised trades
TOKYO, Sept 20, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Major Japanese trading house Mitsubishi
Corp said Friday it was carrying out an investigation after its Singapore-
based subsidiary lost $320 million because of unauthorised trades by an
employee.
In a statement, the firm said the losses involved a local employee of
Petro-Diamond Singapore who was hired “to handle its crude oil trade with
China”.
The employee “was discovered to have been repeatedly engaging in
unauthorised derivatives transactions and disguising them to look like hedge
transactions since January of this year”, the firm said.
A fall in crude prices from July resulted in “large losses”, and the
subsidiary began investigating the employee’s work in mid-August, the
statement added.
PDS “expects to book a loss of approximately $320 million”, it said.
Mitsubishi Corp said the derivatives position was quickly closed and
investigations were carried out at the subsidiary and other group companies
and in-house departments involved in derivatives trading.
“These investigations confirmed that there are no such problems or risks
at present.”
The employee has been fired and the subsidiary has filed a complaint with
police, it added.
“Investigations are currently ongoing to determine all of the details,”
Mitsubishi Corp said.
BSS/AFP/HR/1424