Wilmar China unit appeals guilty verdict over contract fraud case

Yikhai Kerry Arawana Holdings was ordered to pay $345b in losses.

Wilmar International Limited’s China subsidiary Yikhai Kerry Arawana Holdings Co. Ltd. (YKA) lodged an appeal to an Anhui court after it was found guilty of contract fraud and ordered to bear losses amounting to $345.6m (¥1.88b).

Yihai (Guangzhou) Oils & Grains Industries Co (Guangzhou Yihai) submitted a written appeal to the Anhui Provincial Higher People’s Court, YKA said in a bourse filing on 28 November. Guangzhou Yihai is a subsidiary of YKA that is 89.99 percent owned by Wilmar.

“The second instance hearing in this litigation has yet to commence, and its impact on the company’s current period profits and future profits remains uncertain,” YKA added in the filing.

Guangzhou Yihai was sued by a public prosecutor in China in January 2024 as it was found as an accomplice in contract fraud, related to palm oil trades between state-owned Anhui Huawen and a privately-owned firm Yunnan Huijia Import & Export Co.

The alleged fraud led to a $951.6m (¥5.2b) loss for Anhui Huawen.

Wilmar and YKA have rejected the judgment, but YKA stated that it would “fully support” its subsidiary’s appeal.

Wilmar argued that Yunnan Huijia is attempting to implicate Guangzhou Yihai to shift responsibility for the losses.

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