Radiant World seeks $2 billion from Glencore in lawsuit

By Pratima Desai

LONDON, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Iron ore trader Radiant World Corp and related companies have filed a lawsuit against commodities giant Glencore in Singapore's High Court, seeking more than $2 billion in damages over allegations of fraud, breach of contract and conspiracy.

A copy of the lawsuit filed on Tuesday and seen by Reuters says Glencore deliberately concealed trading arrangements with Radiant World and related companies from its audited records while under U.S. Justice Department compliance monitoring.

It says Glencore "directed those channels so that the true commercial arrangements would not be reflected in its audited records," following its 2022 guilty pleas in the U.S. to commodity price manipulation and bribery charges.

The dispute involves a 2021 incident in which Glencore demanded Radiant World pay a mark-to-market exposure of $1.1 billion on derivatives positions, when the long-standing practice had been to roll over such losses, according to the claim.

Glencore then extracted over $800 million in payments between 2021 and 2026 through promises of a long-term partnership before abruptly terminating the relationship this year, according to the copy of the filing.

"These claims are meritless and we will contest them vigorously. We have incurred losses and been exposed to risks by Radiant World companies and will take appropriate action," Glencore said in a statement on Tuesday.

A record of the filing was not publicly visible on Singapore's court website on Wednesday.

However, Radiant World on its website published a statement confirming the lawsuit. 

"The claims, which include claims for damages exceeding US$2 billion, are set out in the Statement of Claim filed with the Court," the statement on its website said.

"Radiant World rejects, in the clearest terms, the allegations of wrongdoing that have been made against it and the companies associated with it. This is, and has always been, a commercial dispute."

London-listed Glencore, which said in early August it had booked a provision on its exposure to Radiant World, said on Friday it had "stopped all business and exited all obligations" with the company.

Radiant World has faced mounting challenges since banks and counterparties began distancing themselves due to concerns that invoices provided to its banks may not have been valid.

Singapore's police force said last month that it was investigating Radiant World after receiving reports about the company, without giving further details.

Radiant World has denied any wrongdoing, calling the claims inaccurate and unsubstantiated and saying it "conducts its business to the highest commercial and legal standards".

Radiant World's lawsuit also alleges Glencore made damaging statements to financial institutions and to media outlets.

(Reporting by Pratima Desai in London; additional reporting by Solomon Cefai in Singapore; Editing by Tony Munroe, Neil Fullick and Tomasz Janowski)