By Jonathan Stempel
NEW YORK, Oct 6 (Reuters) – A federal judge on Tuesday allowed a US fund to seek payment records from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the Clearing House Interbank Payments System, as it pursues a criminal complaint of fraud and money laundering against iron ore trader Radiant World.
US District Judge John Cronan in Manhattan said Mariner Atlantic Multi-Strategy LLC’s requested subpoenas were not unduly intrusive or burdensome because they sought seemingly “easy-to-collect payments records related to specific accounts and a specific timeframe.”
The decision is among a growing number of legal actions facing Radiant World, including in Singapore and London, after some banks and counterparties stopped doing business with the trader amid allegations it falsified invoices to secure financing.
Radiant World did not immediately respond to requests for comment outside business hours. The Singapore-based trader has denied wrongdoing, and said it conducts business “to the highest commercial and legal standards.”
Lawyers for Mariner also did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Mariner requested its subpoenas in a Manhattan federal court filing last week in connection with a criminal complaint filed in mid-September with the Geneva Public Prosecutor’s Office against Radiant World, founder Pinkesh Nahar and related entities.
According to the filing, Mariner has been unable to recover the $48.6 million that Radiant World drew down from two revolving credit facilities it provided to support metals trading.
Mariner alleged that Radiant World “systematically had falsified commercial documents in order to simulate transactions and thereby obtain financing from international lenders, including Mariner, through fictitious trades.” The filing did not provide evidence that this occurred.
Cronan said Mariner must serve its subpoenas on Radiant World, Nahar and all other targets in the criminal proceedings before serving the New York Fed and CHIPS. The New York Fed and CHIPS will thereafter have 28 days to respond.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Christopher Cushing, Lincoln Feast and Christian Schmollinger)
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