Singapore Police Got Radiant Fraud Report Months Before Crisis

(Bloomberg) — One of Radiant World’s lenders reported suspected fraud involving the iron ore trader to Singapore police in May, months before the company’s troubles erupted publicly, according to a court ruling.

Intesa Sanpaolo SpA filed its report with the Singapore Police Force on May 7, recounting the use of invoices of a “fictitious and fraudulent nature,” according to a Thursday evening ruling by High Court Judge Kristy Tan that placed Radiant World under interim judicial management. The complaint was made nearly three months before Bloomberg reported in late July on concerns that Radiant World had raised money using falsified documents, leading to a wave of reviews, repayment demands and lawsuits.

The ruling doesn’t say what action police took after receiving Intesa’s report, or whether they began investigating at the time. The police confirmed in August that reports had been lodged and an investigation was underway. Officers also raided Radiant World’s Singapore office and questioned employees as part of the probe, Bloomberg reported at the time.

Thursday’s disclosure significantly pushes back the known timeline of when suspected problems at Radiant World were first reported to authorities.

Bloomberg has previously reported that, starting in the early months of 2026, banks that had bought Radiant World’s invoices sought to verify them with the commodity trading houses whose names were written on them — only to be told in several cases that they were fake.

In the weeks after Intesa went to the police, Mizuho Bank Ltd. paid the iron ore trader $95.5 million for iron ore receivables that the Japanese bank later alleged were backed by fraudulent documents, according to the same court judgment. Mizuho’s repayment demands ultimately prompted Thursday’s ruling, which was supported by Intesa and ultimately wrested control of the business from founder Pinkesh Nahar.

Radiant World has denied all wrongdoing. The company’s spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment. Singapore Police Force also did not immediately respond to Bloomberg queries. Intesa, Mizuho and its lawyers, Shook Lin & Bok, all declined to comment.

Intesa’s suspicions began in April, after Radiant World said a major global buyer was having difficulty paying invoices. The trader said it would repurchase them to support its customer, a firm that was not identified in the ruling. The explanation raised doubts with the Italian lender because the company was “a significant global enterprise” and had just reported strong profits, prompting the bank to verify the receivables directly, according to the ruling.

Radiant World buyers “in every case” told Intesa that they didn’t recognize the relevant invoices or had no corresponding records, according to the court document. The disputed receivables covered purported transactions with three major international traders of iron ore – Cargill Inc., Vitol Group and Glencore Plc.

Intesa has alleged Radiant World’s sale of the receivables was fraudulent and demanded about $126.2 million. The trader has disputed the allegations, saying it had “indisputable and irrefutable evidence” the transactions were genuine, the filing said.

Deutsche Bank AG separately demanded about $102.6 million after launching its own review following Bloomberg’s July report. Vitol told the lender it had no records of six invoices or shipments, while Glencore said one $17.1 million invoice submitted for financing differed from its genuine version, which had already been paid in full, according to the ruling. Radiant has disputed Deutsche Bank’s allegations.

Judge Tan said in the ruling that Intesa’s experience “comports with and contributes to the pattern of fraud” seen in Mizuho and Deutsche Bank’s dealings with Radiant World.

In deciding to place Radiant World under interim judicial management, she concluded the company was or was likely to become unable to pay its debts. She said she placed “little weight” on the trader’s claims it is owed $1 billion in receivables — currently, the lion’s share of its assets.

–With assistance from Jack Farchy and Archie Hunter.

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.