(Reuters) – A commodities trader has filed suit against BP Plc, Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Statoil in a U.S. federal court, accusing the companies of colluding to fix prices in North Sea Brent crude oil.
Thu May 23, 2013 4:33pm EDT
(Reuters) – A commodities trader filed suit against BP Plc (BP.L), Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSa.L) and Statoil (STL.OL) in a U.S. federal court, accusing the companies of colluding to fix prices in North Sea Brent crude oil.
Prime International Trading Ltd, in a proposed class-action lawsuit filed in the courthouse in White Plains, New York on Wednesday, accused the oil companies of misreporting prices of trades in the North Sea benchmark, which sets the price of about 70 percent of the world’s oil.
The lawsuit comes on the heels of a European Commission probe into potential market abuse involving the reporting of false prices to price-setting agency Platts, a unit of McGraw-Hill (MHFI.N). Authorities last week raided the London bureau of Platts and the offices of the three oil majors named in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit accused the oil companies of reporting “inaccurate, misleading and false information” about Brent crude to Platts. Platts’ information is used to price and settle oil contracts.
Phone calls and emails to the oil companies seeking comment were not immediately returned.
Filed in the U.S. Court for the Southern District of New York, the lawsuit alleges violations of the U.S. Commodity Exchange Act and Sherman Antitrust Law.
(Reporting by Bernard Vaughan, additional reporting by Joshua Schneyer; Editing by Leslie Gevirtz)
SOURCE
Case Information
Case Title
Prime International Trading, Ltd. v. BP Plc et al
Court
New York Southern
Nature of Suit
850(Securities/Commodities)
Case Number
7:13-cv-03473
Judge
Judge Kenneth M. Karas
Date Filed
May 22, 2013
Sections
- Class Action
- Competition
- Energy
- New York
- Securities
Law Firms Mentioned
- Lowey Dannenberg
Companies Mentioned
- BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP)
- Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE:RDSA)
- Statoil ASA (NYSE:STO)
Government Agencies Mentioned
- European Commission
Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.
IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS: 
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A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
