Citic Resources sues for return of metals stored at Qingdao port
Company files court action over missing stocks at the port following probe into financing fraud
Citic Resources Holdings has launched legal action against the warehouse operator at Qingdao port for its missing alumina and copper stocks.
Citic said in an update to the Hong Kong stock exchange yesterday it had filed a claim in the Qingdao Maritime Court requiring the operator of the bonded warehouse at the port to confirm Citic's ownership of the 223,270 tonnes of alumina and 7,486 tonnes of copper kept there.
It also asked the warehouse to either release the metal stocks to Citic or offer compensation if they could not be accounted for.
Citic obtained a possession order last month for the metals stored at the port pending payment by buyers and delivery. This followed investigations into a financing fraud by Decheng Mining, a Qingdao-based mining company that allegedly used the same warehouse receipts multiple times to obtain financing.
Citic said on June 17 it was unable to secure 123,446 tonnes of the alumina.
The company declined to disclose the name of the warehouse operator or the amount of compensation it will seek.
"Until the status of the investigation is clarified and the group has conducted its own investigation, the company is not able to accurately assess its impact on the group's alumina and copper stored at Qingdao port or on the group itself," it said in yesterday's statement.
