Two former top executives from billionaire John Fredriksen’s oil trading company are suing him for about $1 billion. They claim his unsuccessful lawsuit nearly led them to financial ruin.
Peter Bosworth, the former CEO of Alta Trading UK Ltd, and Colin Hurley, the former CFO, filed the lawsuit after Fredriksen’s company lost a long court battle accusing them of significant fraud. Their lawyers argued that a freezing order obtained in 2015 unfairly blocked them from launching a new oil trading business or finding new jobs.
During the London trial, Bosworth and Hurley’s lawyers accused Fredriksen’s firm of engaging in spiteful behavior during the legal proceedings, including enlisting Swiss police to investigate the two men.
They highlighted a WhatsApp message from March 2021 in which Fredriksen’s daughter suggested that “something dirty has to be done to thieves like these.” Fredriksen replied that they needed to seize her properties in Switzerland and Ibiza. According to the lawyers, nearly two years later, lawyers for Fredriksen's company urged Swiss police to investigate Bosworth and Hurley, claiming one of Hurley’s properties was bought with fraudulent money from Bosworth.
The executives' lawsuit was based on what Alta's lawyers described as “weak evidence” and perceived it as a gamble on a new oil trading business. They argued there is no proof that the freezing order stopped them from starting this venture.
Furthermore, they claimed Bosworth and Hurley did not make serious efforts to seek employment after the order was imposed.
Fredriksen, who has business interests ranging from shipping to salmon farming, bought Arcadia, a once-prominent oil trading company, in 2006. Arcadia filed suit against Bosworth and Hurley in 2015, alleging that losses of approximately $287 million occurred because the executives diverted oil trading profits to their own companies.
Now known as Alta Trading, the company ceased operations in 2022. A UK judge dismissed the executives' claim last year, stating that they acted in what they believed was best for the Arcadia Group.
The lawyers for Bosworth claimed he could have earned $823 million over the last decade, while Hurley could have earned $318 million if the freezing order had not hindered their plans to restart the oil trading business. They suggested that if they had been employed, Bosworth might have made around $800 million and Hurley about $120 million.
Lawyers for Bosworth and Hurley declined to comment, while Alta's lawyers and a representative for Fredriksen did not respond to requests for further statements.