A trader at Vitol Group in India confirmed at least one transaction between his company and Radiant World that Vitol later said was not genuine, adding a further layer of complexity to a saga that has drawn in some of the biggest names in commodity trading.
Kunal Ahuja, who worked at Glencore for more than a decade before joining Vitol in 2024, verified the transaction to Radiant World lender Intesa Sanpaolo SpA, and separately confirmed other trades to Jefferies Financial Group, according to a Radiant World legal filing seen by Bloomberg News and people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue.
Ahuja is emerging as a key figure in the saga of Radiant World, the iron ore trader that has been accused by a number of its lenders and counterparties of fraudulently raising money by using fake documents.
Ahuja first introduced Radiant World to Glencore, and later to Vitol, according to Radiant World founder Pinkesh Nahar.
Ahuja has now left Vitol, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because the information is not public.
The details of his interactions with Radiant World’s lenders shine a new light on the chain of events that have culminated in multiple lawsuits involving the company.
For months, banks that had bought Radiant World’s invoices sought to verify them with the commodity trading houses whose names were written on them – only ultimately to be told in several cases that they were fake.
Since Bloomberg first reported concerns in July that Radiant World had been raising money using falsified documents, several lenders have publicly accused the company of fraud in legal proceedings.
Radiant World has denied wrongdoing.
Ahuja did not answer multiple calls or messages seeking comment, and did not reply to a letter with questions delivered to his home.
A Vitol spokesperson confirmed that Ahuja was no longer an employee of the company but otherwise declined to comment.
Representatives from Intesa, Jefferies and Glencore declined to comment.
Ahuja’s interaction with Intesa is described in an affidavit by Radiant World founder Nahar in a case brought by a unit of Mizuho Financial Group, which is seeking to put court-appointed restructuring executives in charge of Radiant World’s operations.
A hearing in the case adjourned on Sept 23 with a decision due on the afternoon of Sept 24, Bloomberg reported earlier, citing people familiar with the matter.
Attached to his affidavit, Nahar included a letter sent from Radiant World’s lawyers to the Singapore police stating that Ahuja had confirmed a transaction to an Intesa banker in Singapore.
The letter included an e-mail exchange between Radiant World staff referring to a WhatsApp message sent by Ahuja.
“As to the transactions now questioned by Intesa, Mr Kunal Ahuja, formerly of Glencore and subsequently of Vitol, acknowledged the relevant transaction,” Nahar said in the affidavit.
The Singapore police are investigating Radiant World and raided the company’s offices last month.
Bloomberg has previously reported that Vitol told Intesa some of the invoices it was financing were not genuine and that others had already been settled, while Intesa has said it has taken a provision on its exposure to Radiant World.
Ahuja also confirmed some trades to Jefferies’ Point Bonita unit, according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the subject.
Jefferies, through a fund run by Point Bonita, is a major Radiant World creditor, and earlier this month accused it in court of being part of a “very large scale fraud”.
Lawyers representing Radiant World said in a court filing that they intend to defend the claims.
First meeting
It is not clear whether Ahuja had any legal authority to confirm trades on behalf of Vitol.
He described himself as a “director” of Vitol India in his LinkedIn profile, but confirming transactions with banks is something that would normally be done by the trading house’s finance team rather than its traders.
Still, Nahar’s affidavit paints Ahuja as a central figure in the story of Radiant World’s rise.
Nahar described first meeting Ahuja in 2011, at a coal conference in Bali. They were introduced by Rakesh Sethi – another key player in the Radiant World saga, who is now chairman of Sapphire Minmetals, a legally separate but closely related company that is also part of the lawsuit against Glencore.
It was Ahuja who first introduced Nahar to Glencore, the Radiant World founder said: “At that time, Glencore was establishing a new vertical in iron ore trading and was interested in working with me.”
And it was Ahuja who suggested deepening the relationship in 2017, according to Nahar’s affidavit, proposing an arrangement whereby Radiant World and related entities would trade derivatives bilaterally through Glencore.
“I spent over two days staying at Kunal’s house, during which Kunal provided me with detailed explanations and guidance on how the derivative trading was intended to work,” Nahar wrote.
When Ahuja joined Vitol in 2024, he brought the Radiant World relationship with him, according to Nahar.
“Radiant’s relationship with Vitol followed Kunal’s move there from Glencore in September 2024,” Nahar said in the affidavit. BLOOMBERG
