Title: Massive Copper Theft Scandal Rocks Europe’s Leading Producer Aurubis
Date: [Current Date]
In a shocking turn of events, Aurubis, Europe’s largest copper producer, has announced an internal investigation into a suspected conspiracy involving suppliers and employees. The investigation follows the revelation that metals worth hundreds of millions of euros have gone missing from the company’s inventories.
Shares in Aurubis plummeted by as much as 17 percent on Friday morning in Frankfurt, reacting to the late-Thursday announcement that the company would miss its full-year profit target due to the discovery of “criminal activity.” The potential financial impact of this discovery is estimated to be in the “low three-digit-million-euro range.”
Aurubis, renowned for its copper smelting and recycling operations, is based in Hamburg and generated revenues of €18.5 billion last year. The company, although not involved in ore mining, specializes in recycling metal concentrates, scrap metals, and metal-bearing recycling materials obtained from mining and electronics companies.
The ongoing company-wide investigation, set to conclude by the end of September, aims to determine whether suppliers colluded with employees to manipulate the logs of scrap metal in Aurubis’ recycling business. The police are actively involved in the investigation.
A spokesperson for Aurubis told the Financial Times, “It’s hard to give concrete information before the investigation concludes,” indicating that given the volumes involved, the theft likely includes metal-bearing materials such as scrap electronics and other precious metals.
This latest scandal adds to the growing list of controversies that have tarnished the metals industry, raising concerns about adherence to compliance, oversight, and security protocols. Trafigura, a global commodity trading group, recently uncovered a $590 million nickel fraud, while London Metal Exchange warehouses were found to have contained bags of stones instead of nickel. The industry has also witnessed a series of frauds and thefts in China in recent years.
Following a police raid in June related to missing goods worth €20 million, which led to the arrests of six individuals, Aurubis stressed that the June incident and the current investigation are unrelated. The public prosecutor in Hamburg is, however, proceeding with its case against 12 defendants associated with the extensive searches conducted in June.
Since the June raid, Aurubis has strengthened its security measures, implementing additional random checks and tightening controls at entry and exit gates for vehicles transporting metals.
Despite the alleged theft, Aurubis remains confident in its ability to absorb the losses, assuring shareholders that it will not impact capital expenditure or growth plans. As a result of this ongoing investigation, German steelmaker Salzgitter, which owns 30 percent of Aurubis, has also suspended its full-year guidance, awaiting more information from the copper producer.
As the investigation continues, the copper industry faces renewed scrutiny regarding its compliance, oversight, and security practices. Aurubis’ findings and subsequent actions are poised to shape the industry’s response to prevent such incidents in the future.
Stay tuned for updates as Aurubis aims to resolve this scandal and restore its position as Europe’s premier copper producer.