Europe’s Top Copper Producer Aurubis Hit by Huge Metals Scam
- Aurubis may face losses in hundreds of millions of euros
- Firm says scrap suppliers appear to have manipulated details
An excavator grabs copper scrap for recycling at the Aurubis AG metals plant in Hamburg, Germany.
Photographer: Martin Leissl/Bloomberg
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Europe’s top copper producer Aurubis AG warned it may face losses in the hundreds of millions of euros after being hit by a massive scam involving shipments of scrap metal that it uses in its recycling business.
Shares in the company plunged as much as 18% after it announced it found a significant metal shortfall and said it no longer expects to meet its profit forecast for the year. Aurubis believes some of its suppliers have manipulated details about the scrap metal they provided and had been working with employees in the company’s sampling department to cover it up.