Rotterdam's Growing Oil Storage Fraud Problem Is Costing Traders Millions

The port of Rotterdam has seen, in recent years, increasingly sophisticated attempts by fraudsters to scam millions of dollars out of traders by paper fraud, offering non-existent oil storage at one of the world’s biggest oil hubs.

The frauds, using fake documents and fraudulent websites, lure traders to pay for oil storage that simply doesn’t exist at the Port of Rotterdam. The scams have been running for about 15 years, the Port of Rotterdam Authority has estimated, and has created a special task force to fight them.