Aug 4 (Reuters) – Jefferies has been told that some of the invoices underpinning its financing to an iron ore trader called Sapphire Minmetals Corp are not genuine, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday.
The discovery, which came after Jefferies checked the veracity of the invoices with Vitol Group, is a further blow to the U.S. bank and its Point Bonita fund, the report added, citing people familiar with the matter.
Jefferies, Vitol Group and Sapphire Minmetals did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. Reuters could not independently verify the report.
Shares of the bank were last down 1% in afternoon trading.
Point Bonita made headlines last year after Jefferies disclosed that the fund had millions of dollars in exposure to bankrupt auto-parts maker First Brands Group.
The episode put receivables finance under greater investor scrutiny, even though it is generally considered a low-risk form of lending because loans are backed by invoices.
Jefferies has been checking the documents underpinning the Point Bonita fund’s financing to both Radiant World and Sapphire Minmetals in recent weeks, the Bloomberg report said.
(Reporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
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