Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

SHIPPING

Former Beluga manager accused of stealing orphan school donations

Former owner of the bankrupt Beluga shipping firm Niels Stolberg has been accused of funnelling money donated to rebuild a school in Thailand after the 2004 tsunami in Asia into his company’s coffers as he battled to keep it afloat.

Published: 5 October 2011 17:01 CEST
Former Beluga manager accused of stealing orphan school donations
Photo: DPA

The Financial Times Deutschland reported on Wednesday that the Bremen public prosecutor had launched an investigation against Stolberg for suspected fraud regarding the €500,000 school donation.

The paper said Beluga ran into massive money problems last year and went bust in the summer. Stolberg is already being investigated for suspected falsification of the company’s accounts to the tune of more than €100 million.

It is thought he simply invented massive chunks of turnover, while also putting part of his personal fortune into the company in an attempt to make its books seem halfway healthy, the paper said.

He persuaded the American investor Oaktree Capital Management to invest in the company in 2010, but within a few months the Americans confronted him about irregularities and forced him out of the company.

Oaktree is now suing Stolberg for €120 million in damages, while the latest allegations will only further damage his ruined reputation according to the FTD.

He founded the school in Thailand following the tsunami, supposedly in order to help orphaned children there. The television programme NDR1 reported recently that money collected for it during the fundraising effort was moved the next day into the company’s accounts.

The Local/hc

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

SHIPPING

Danish shipping giant calls for global carbon tax for shipping

Maersk, the world's largest shipping firm, on Wednesday called for a carbon tax on ship fuel to encourage the transition to cleaner alternatives.

Published: 3 June 2021 10:35 CEST
Danish shipping giant calls for global carbon tax for shipping
The Maersk Batam container ship is loaded at the Port of Southampton. Photo: Adrian Dennis / AFP

The Danish firm proposed a tax of at least $450 per tonne of fuel, which works out to $150 per tonne of carbon.

Maersk CEO Soren Skou called the tax proposal “a levy to bridge the gap between the fossil fuels consumed by vessels today and greener alternatives that are currently more expensive.”

The call by Maersk for the fuel tax comes ahead of a meeting later this month of the International Maritime Organization, at which the UN body is due to consider how to reduce emissions from the shipping sector.

The sector is responsible for emitting 940 million tonnes of carbon per year, or about 2.5 percent of the global total, according to the European Commission, as most ships continue to use heavy fuel oil, one of the most polluting fuels.

Maersk would be hit by such a fuel tax as it is a major consumer of ship fuel, but the firm believes the IMO is not moving fast enough and wants to see additional measures to shift the industry towards cleaner options.

The firm, which currently has some 700 ships, has announced plans to launch in 2023 its first ship that will use biomethane or renewable natural gas as a fuel.

The company aims to become carbon neutral in 2050.

SHOW COMMENTS