Rotterdam Port Authority Expands Task Force to Tackle $2.9 Billion in Oil Storage Fraud
A multi-agency initiative led by the Port of Rotterdam Authority aims to dismantle a 15-year-old fraud scheme that has cost traders at least $11.5 million annually, with $2.9 billion in fraudulent deals reported last year.
The Port of Rotterdam Authority, in collaboration with the Association of Dutch Tank Storage Companies (VOTOB), The Commodity Traders (TCT), and the Seaport Police, has expanded a dedicated task force to combat a sophisticated fraud operation known as “storage spoofing.” The scheme involves the sale of non-existent oil storage capacity and inventories, exploiting the complexities of international logistics through forged documents and AI-generated impersonations.
Authorities estimate the fraud has operated for approximately 15 years, causing reported annual losses to traders of at least $11.5 million. While this figure represents only known and reported instances, the total scale of the operation is significantly larger, with $2.9 billion in fraudulent deals reported to the task force last year. The Port of Rotterdam Authority noted that these figures reflect the offered value of deals rather than the total amount successfully defrauded.
Fraudsters are increasingly utilising artificial intelligence to create convincingly realistic fake websites that clone legitimate trading companies. By harvesting publicly available information such as logos and chamber of commerce data, scammers produce digital contacts and websites that are difficult to distinguish from authentic entities. This technological advancement has allowed the syndicate to target unsuspecting traders and damage the reputation of legitimate port operators.
The human cost of these digital crimes is illustrated by the case of British oil trader Atif Aslam, who lost nearly $1.5 million after discovering that documents for oil supposedly stored in Rotterdam were forged. The inventory did not exist, nor did the storage facility for which payment had been made. Such incidents highlight the vulnerability of traders to paper fraud that mimics the structure of legitimate tank-storage logistics.
To counter these threats, the expanded task force includes the Digital Expertise team of the Seaport Police District, which assists in identifying and taking down fraudulent sites. The initiative also launched a new awareness platform, storagespoofing.nl, designed to identify and blacklist fraudulent websites impersonating legitimate tank storage companies.
Willem-Henk Streekstra, Director of VOTOB, and Marijn van Schoote, Director of Ferm Seaports, have emphasised the necessity of this cooperation. Streekstra noted that while members have dealt with the issue for years, the joint effort provides professional support to reduce storage spoofing. Van Schoote described the fraud as digitalised crime affecting the economy and port integrity, welcoming the urgent recognition of the problem by the Port of Rotterdam Authority and VOTOB.
The task force remains actively committed to blacklisting fraudulent sites and having them taken offline. By combining regulatory oversight with industry insight and digital policing, the coalition aims to protect the integrity of the port and prevent further financial losses to international traders.
