Creditors and justice focus on Melissanidis

by Matt Coyne

Aegean Marine Petroleum Network’s unsecured creditors have accused founder Dimitris Melissanidis of masterminding the alleged nine-figure fraud scheme that may have helped push it into bankruptcy.

As part of the company’s ongoing Chapter 11 restructuring, creditors are seeking the rights to $300m that are said to have been funnelled to shell companies.

Aegean Marine, the New York-listed bunker supplier, has previously described

these entities as controlled by an “unnamed former affiliate”, but court papers filed by creditors directly link Melissanidis for the first time.

A spokesperson for Melissanidis said he was never interviewed as part of any investigation by Aegean Marine, and that the company has not shared any of its findings with him.

«In fact, he has not been an officer, an employee or even a shareholder of the company for several years,» the spokesperson said.

«When the full story comes out, it will be clear that Mr Melissanidis has done nothing wrong. In the meanwhile, he wishes his many friends at the company success as it goes through its restructuring.»

The Greek shipping tycoon stepped away from his role as head of corporate development at Aegean Marine in 2016, but was never too far from the company that he founded in 1995.

After selling his shares, he stayed on as a consultant until June of this year, when the company announced it would have to write $200m off its balance sheet as uncollectible. Three months earlier, Aegean Marine’s proposed $367m merger with Melissanidis-owned HEC Europe was scuttled by activist shareholders.

Allegations

In November, Aegean Marine alleged that the “unnamed former affiliate” had bullied employees into perpetuating a scheme that included forged bank statements, contracts and other documents, paying up to $300m to shell companies that he owned. The company charged that two-thirds of that was designed to obscure funds that were misappropriated to OilTank Engineering & Consulting, another allegedly Melissanidis-owned company enlisted to build an oil terminal in the United Arab Emirates.

Meanwhile, Aegean Marine, crunched by increasing competition, dwindling lines of credit and terminals running dry, was nearly liquidated over the summer. The company got a lifeline from Swiss commodities trader Mercuria Energy Group and filed for bankruptcy last month. Mercuria had proposed a «stalking horse» sale.

The unsecured creditors argued to the bankruptcy court that Mercuria was attempting to acquire Aegean Marine at a bargain and that proceeds from the fraud claims were among the company’s most valuable assets.

Agreement achieved

The two sides came to an agreement earlier this month and a joint bid from Oaktree Capital Management and Hartree Partners pushed Mercuria to increase its offer.

In the improved offer, which awaits a judge’s approval, Aegean Marine would be reorganised and the creditors would receive $40m along with all of the proceeds from the fraud claims.

In a term sheet outlining the deal, the creditors would receive claims and causes of action related to the accounts receivable write-off, the fraud, other claims stemming from the oil terminal construction and “fraudulent misappropriation of funds by Dimitris Melissanidis,” plus claims against auditors.

Aegean Marine and its creditors hope to have the new plan approved in mid-January, with the reorganisation complete in May.

Source: Tradewinds