Certa, a prominent fuel company, alleges that more than 12 million litres of prepaid biofuel is either unaccounted for or non-existent, following the insolvency of the Irish supplier’s primary shareholder in Britain. During court proceedings initiated on Monday, Certa contends that misleading information was provided by Green D Project Ireland Ltd a month prior to Green Biofuels Ltd, its UK-based majority shareholder, declaring insolvency; they had declared possession of roughly 17 million litres of fuel in Ringaskiddy, Cork.
Operating several petrol stations, Certa also supplies home heating oil and commercial fuel. It had agreed to purchase approximately 18 million litres of hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) biofuel, a low emission diesel substitute produced from waste vegetable oils and animal fats. In 2022, due to concerns about potential threats to Ireland’s electricity supply stability, Certa sought to secure a substantial volume of biofuel as a potential power source for emergency generators.
The company had made an agreement with Green D to deliver 18 million litres of HVO biofuel in exchange for €26.7 million. Testifying in an affidavit, Andrew Graham, formerly of Certa and currently working with DCC Energy in mobility, revealed that the full payment had been made to Green D in December 2022. Green D had also agreed to store and segregate Certa’s 18 million litre supply in their Cork facility.
According to Graham, payment was made to an account believed to be Green D’s, but it was actually Green Biofuels’. The realisation that only 4.7 million litres were stored was first noted in January 2023 by Cork’s tank inspection reports, leading to concerns that persisted throughout the year, despite repeated assurances that the intended 17 million litres would be stored.
Tosko Botev, Commercial Director of Green Biofuels UK, stated in August that a delivery was expected soon which would include Certa’s supply. By September, Botev reported that 17.3 million litres were stored in the facility, according to his tank dip measurements.
Green Biofuels went into administration within the UK and Mr Graham aimed to conduct its own tank measurements, but this was thwarted. Instead, he received a WhatsApp message from another Green D representative disclosing the controversial dip value of just more than 8 million litres.
Mr Graham was alarmed by this revelation. He surmised that in the transition from the 17 million litre valuation reported by Mr Botev to the new WhatsApp reading, an estimated 250 lorries would need to transport 9.3 million litres from the facility across nine days, to reach the decreased level of 8 million litres. This scenario seemed unlikely to him. Despite his queries about the discrepancy in values, he received no answers.
The situation became even more perplexing when Certa representatives eventually executed measurements on the 11th of October, finding only 7.7 million litres. Of the total 18 million litres that Certa paid for, they only obtained 5.8 million litres. Thus, the whereabouts of an astonishing 12.2 million litres remained a mystery.
Following Green Biofuels’ entry into administration in the UK, the joint administrators launched an appeal to the Irish High Court for Green D’s closure. This was resisted by Green D and the court decided against supporting the interim liquidators in December.
Subsequently, Green D initiated legal action against Certa over the use of its biofuel supply known as GD+, demanding a substantial €24.5 million. Certa, however, seeks a variety of confirmations, including precise execution of the agreement to supply the complete quantity of 18 million litres and an invalidation of the €24.5 million invoice from Green D.
Mr Graham revealed that an arrangement involving a money payment to Certa during Easter also stipulated an agreement for the Certa case to be granted for admission to the Commercial Court. On Monday, following an application by Michael Cush, SC for Certa, and consent from Paul McGarry, SC for the defendant, Justice Denis McDonald approved the case’s admission to the fast track Commercial Court along with agreed directions for proceedings.