Trafigura faces $1B+ loss over fraud | French ISP Free confirms data breach | Puke Coal fined over year-long landfill fire

In today’s Portfolio Intelligence Daily:?

• Trafigura faces $1B+ loss over fraud
• French ISP Free confirms data breach
• Puke Coal fined over year-long landfill fire

Our analyst team curates these summaries from Auquan’s Intelligence Engine, which uses generative AI and retrieval augmented generation (RAG) to uncover material non-financial insights at scale to support deal sourcing, due diligence, risk monitoring, and compliance.

Industry reading:

• The magic of RAG is in the retrieval (InfoWorld) — Retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) and AI agents are transforming how AI can automate knowledge work in the enterprise.
• Tackling Information Overload in the Age of AI [private credit] (TDWI Upside)
• Why AI is finally catching up with financial services (Maddyness)

Trafigura faces $1B+ loss over fraud

Commodity trading and transportation company Trafigura is preparing to take a $1.1 billion hit after uncovering suspected fraud involving employees in its Mongolian oil business, characterized by serious misconduct including data manipulation and inflated payments.

• This follows a previous incident where the company lost over $500 million due to alleged nickel fraud, indicating a pattern of financial misconduct.
• The internal review revealed that the fraud accumulated over five years and involved deliberate concealment of overdue receivables, complicating the company's financial integrity.
• Trafigura may need to restate prior financial results due to the impact of this fraud, affecting investor confidence and regulatory compliance.
• The company is taking steps to pursue repayment from a key counterparty involved in the fraudulent activities while improving oversight and controls to prevent future incidents.

Select timeline

• Oct 31, 2024 | Trafigura warns of potential $1.1 billion hit from fraud in Mongolia (Reuters)
• Oct 30, 2024 | Trafigura Faces $1.1 Billion Hit After Mongolia Fraud Probe (Bloomberg)
• Feb 09, 2023 | Commodity Trader Trafigura Faces $577 Million Loss After Uncovering Nickel Fraud (Bloomberg)

French ISP Free confirms data breach

French ISP Free confirmed a cyberattack affecting over 19 million customer accounts, with data stolen from its internal management tool.

• The hacker, known as "drussellx," attempted to sell two databases containing subscriber information on a Dark Web forum.
• Free clarified that no passwords, bank-card information, emails, SMSs, or voicemails were compromised, and services remained unaffected.
• The company plans to notify impacted customers via email and has filed a criminal complaint with authorities.
• This incident underscores the rising trend of cyberattacks targeting ISPs to exploit customer data for malicious purposes.

Select timeline

• Oct 30, 2024 | French ISP Confirms Cyberattack, Data Breach Affecting 19M (Dark Reading)
• Oct 28, 2024 | Free, France’s second-largest telecoms company, confirms being hit by cyberattack (The Record)
• Oct 28, 2024 | France’s second-largest telecoms provider Free suffered a cyber attack (Security Affairs)

Puke Coal fined over year-long landfill fire

Puke Coal Limited and its director Kenneth John Campbell were convicted and fined $85,000 each for a prolonged landfill fire in Waikato that lasted nearly a year.

• Puke Coal Limited is based in Huntly, Waikato, New Zealand
• The fire, which began on August 16, 2020, emitted harmful smoke and odors, affecting local communities and leading to 518 complaints from residents.
• Residents reported health issues including coughing, skin rashes, and headaches, with some forced to evacuate their homes due to the toxic effects.
• The company was found guilty of discharging contaminants into the air and breaching abatement notices issued by the Waikato Regional Council.
• The landfill is now operated by Green Gorilla, which manages it as a consented construction and demolition waste facility.

Select timeline

• Oct 29, 2024 | Puke Coal Limited and director convicted and fined for Waikato landfill fire (RNZ)
• Oct 29, 2024 | $170k in fines over year-long Waikato landfill fire (1News)
• Nov 04, 2024 | Waikato dump fire burning since August: Locals report health problems (RNZ)

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