A New Nickel Scandal came to light when the London Metal Exchange (LME), a major marketplace for industrial metals, has recently discovered bags of stones instead of the nickel that underpinned several of its contracts. The discovery was made at a warehouse owned by Access World in Rotterdam, where the metal had been registered since early 2022. This revelation has led to the cancellation of nine nickel contracts, worth about $1.3 million, and has further undermined trust in the global nickel trade. This article provides an overview of the recent scandal, its impact on the metals market, and the possible causes and consequences of the irregularities.
The Nickel Scandal On March 17, 2023, the LME postponed the resumption of nickel trading during Asian hours by a week after finding nickel that failed to meet contract specifications at an LME warehouse. The exchange cancelled nine nickel warrants at one warehouse facility without naming it. The LME’s announcement further undermined trust in the global nickel trade after trader Trafigura last month alleged that it discovered “systematic fraud” in shipments that did not contain nickel and begun legal proceedings against Indian businessman Prateek Gupta and his companies.
JP Morgan hit by Nickel Scandal
JP Morgan Chase & Co. has been revealed as a victim of the scandal rocking the international metal trading world after it was discovered that the nine nickel contracts it owned, worth about $1.3 million, were backed by bags of stones instead of the expected nickel. The revelation has delivered another blow to the confidence in the London Metal Exchange (LME), which cancelled the nine nickel contracts after discovering “irregularities” at a warehouse in Rotterdam that was owned by Access World.
The LME is generally viewed as the gold standard in metals trading, and the veracity of its metal contracts is “beyond question,” according to Bloomberg. The scandal has therefore undermined trust in the global nickel trade, which has already been facing challenges, including allegations of systematic fraud by Trafigura Group against companies controlled by metals trader Prateek Gupta, as well as a nickel crisis a year ago that affected the market.
JP Morgan’s loss in the nickel scandal is expected to be significant, and the financial services company is likely to face losses as a result. The impact of the scandal on the metals market as a whole, however, is limited, as the amount of metal in question represents just 0.14% of live nickel inventories on the LME, worth about $1.3 million at current prices.
The LME and JP Morgan have not commented on the scandal, but the revelation has highlighted the need for greater transparency and accountability in the metal trading industry. The LME, which serves as a price setter and helps regulate the trade in general, has a responsibility to ensure that its approved warehouses are operating ethically and that the metal stored in them is legitimate.
The JP Morgan scandal also raises questions about the reliability of warehouse receipts, which are ownership documents for metals placed in LME-approved warehouses. The cancellation of the nine nickel warrants owned by JP Morgan suggests that the LME’s system of checks and balances may not be foolproof, and that there may be weaknesses in the system that need to be addressed.
Impact on Metals Market The amount of metal found to be fraudulent represents just 0.14% of live nickel inventories on the LME, worth about $1.3 million at current prices. Therefore, the immediate impact on metals markets is limited. However, the scandal has resulted in the postponement of nickel trading on the LME, further damaging the exchange’s reputation and adding to the industry’s skepticism of the reliability of warehouse data. The incident also highlights the need for a robust system of monitoring and control in metal trading and storage.
Possible Causes and Consequences The recent scandal has raised questions about the effectiveness of the LME’s approved warehouse system and the reliability of the data provided by storage companies. The LME does not operate warehouses but “approves” them. The system of warehousing is susceptible to fraud, as has been demonstrated in the recent scandal. The incident may lead to stricter regulations and monitoring of metal trading and storage to avoid similar occurrences in the future. Moreover, it may increase scrutiny of metal trading and storage companies, causing a decline in confidence in the industry.
Nickel Scandal and Trafigura Group’s Loss in Nickel
Trafigura Group, one of the largest commodities traders in the world, recently suffered a significant loss in the nickel market due to what it described as a “systematic fraud.” The incident has raised concerns about the integrity of the global nickel trade and highlighted the importance of proper due diligence in commodity trading.
The Incident:
Trafigura believed that it was purchasing containers full of nickel, which it planned to sell to buyers in China. However, when the containers arrived, the company discovered that they did not contain nickel at all. Instead, they were filled with stones, in what the company described as a “systematic fraud.”
The Potential Loss:
The potential loss for Trafigura from this incident could be over half a billion dollars. This is a significant blow to the company, which has expanded aggressively in recent years to become one of the largest and most profitable players in global commodity markets.
The Impact on the Nickel Market:
The impact on the nickel market is yet to be fully realized, but the postponement of the resumption of nickel trading during Asian hours by a week to March 27 by the LME after it found nickel that failed to meet contract specifications at an LME warehouse is another blow to the world’s oldest and biggest industrial metals market. The LME had been counting on a restart of Asian trade to boost liquidity in a contact that has been struggling since a nickel crisis a year ago.
The LME did not name the warehouse where the irregularities were found, but it stated that the issues with nickel related to bagged nickel briquettes that were found to not have the correct weight. The bags in question were at a warehouse owned by Access World in Rotterdam and contained stones instead of the nickel, according to Bloomberg sources familiar with the matter.
While the immediate impact on the nickel market is limited, the scandal will likely lead to increased scrutiny and regulation of the metal trading industry to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future. The LME and other industry players will need to regain the trust of investors and customers to maintain their position as the gold standard in metals trading. The impact of the scandal may also lead to changes in how warehouses are approved and monitored to prevent irregularities and fraud from occurring.