Rhodium Trading Australia’s liquidators have secured a default judgment worth more than US$14mn against a UAE-based company that purchased soft commodities from the defunct trader.
In a court filing last year, Rhodium alleged it was owed US$7.9mn plus interest for three shipments to merchant Leading Edge in early 2020.
The trader had delivered Brazilian cane sugar, Argentine soya beans and Ukrainian corn to Leading Edge in the throes of the Covid-19 pandemic, yet had never been paid for the goods, the filing claimed.
In recent weeks, Supreme Court of New South Wales Justice Elisabeth Peden granted a default judgment after Leading Edge failed to appear at the proceedings.
“It is well established that the court may order default judgment but will not if there is any perceived injustice in doing so,” said Justice Peden. “I am unaware of any injustice here and consider that default judgment is appropriate.”
The judge also awarded Rhodium interest of US$6.3mn on the unpaid sums, bringing the overall compensation fee to more than US$14mn.
The decision marks a victory in efforts by Rhodium’s liquidators to recoup funds for creditors, with the Singaporean firm reportedly owing more than US$620mn at the time of its demise.
Other attempts to claw back losses have encountered difficulties. Rhodium International Trading USA – the group’s US arm – filed a court suit against Great American Insurance Company, arguing its trade credit insurance unit FCIA is liable for non-payments on trades worth over US$20mn.
But the insurer has rejected its claims, arguing Rhodium US “falsely represented” its business model.
Rhodium was considered a major trader of agricultural goods and had secured financing from large banks, ostensibly for its trading business. However, the firm ran into cash flow problems during the Covid-19 pandemic and liquidators were soon appointed.
Since renamed Antanium Resources, it had offices in various markets including Australia, the UK, China and Hong Kong.
In the Leading Edge case, Rhodium’s Australian subsidiary said it delivered sugar, soya beans and corn, its court filing says.
Rhodium issued commercial invoices and bills of lading to the company and anticipated payment within 150 days. By mid-2020, however, the buyer had failed to honour the contracts.
According to Rhodium’s filing, Leading Edge has “not disputed its liability” and has failed to engage in the dispute despite “a series of letters and email correspondence” between July 2020 and January 2021.
Rhodium also made multiple demands for payment in 2020 and issued another request in November 2023, yet had little luck, its filing reveals.
“As at the date of filing this commercial list statement, Leading Edge has not responded to any of the emails… or the demands for payment,” it adds.
Rhodium Trading Australia’s legal team did not immediately respond to an email request. GTR was unable to reach Leading Edge despite efforts to locate contact details.
