Interpol Issues Red Notices for 3 Sinopec Executives, Reuters Says

(Beijing) – Three Chinese executives of state-owned oil giant Sinopec are wanted by Interpol for alleged fraud related to an Indonesian oil storage project worth more than $800 million, police in the Southeast Asian country said.

Interpol has issued red notices for Zhang Jun, Feng Zhigang, and Ye Zhijun, all executives of the Hong Kong-listed unit of China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (Sinopec), Reuters reported, citing Indonesian Police spokesman Boy Rafli Amar.

No information about the three people was found on Interpol’s website. Sinopec spokesman Lu Dapeng said the company is trying to collect more information.

Caixin learned from sources close to Sinopec that Ye, who jointed Sinopec in 2002, is currently an executive director of Sinopec Kantons Holdings Ltd., a Sinopec Hong Kong-listed subsidiary. Caixin’s calls to Sinopec and Sinopec Kantons weren’t answered.

The project involved, PT West Point Terminal, is 95% owned by Sinopec Kantons, which aims to develop a 2.6 million cubic meter storage facility and supportive port facilities with a total investment of $841 million.

Reuters reported that Defrizal Djamaris, a lawyer representing West Point Terminal's 5% stakeholder, PT Mas Capital Trust, said the red notices were issued because the three executives had left the country and not cooperated with local police investigations.

The project, signed in 2012, was touted as Southeast Asia's largest commercial oil storage facility and was initially expected to be operational by the end of 2015. But it has been delayed due to disputes between shareholders.

According to people close to the project, the disputes stem from Sinopec Kantons’ demands that Indonesian shareholders reimburse it for part of the payments it made initially to cover the whole investment.

Sinopec said Tuesday evening in a statement that it hadn’t received any red notices from Interpol, and Sinopec Kantons was verifying the relevant information. It also said the company is trying to resolve disputes with Indonesian shareholders through legitimate means.

Contact reporter Han Wei (weihan@caixin.com)