john deuss yacht

Robert Clark / De Vries Lentsch 171 ft 3-Masted Schooner 1960

These details are provisional and may be amended

BROKER'S COMMENTS

On launching in 1959 at the Amsterdam shipyard that would eventually become known as Feadship, Yachting World magazine predicted with some accuracy, "… it would be hard to find a vessel of more essentially fine seagoing qualities, not only in terms of comfort but also of ultimate safety... she is, and will probably remain, a unique vessel." Despite thousands of sailing superyacht commissionings over the past 25 years, FLEURTJE still regularly appears in published lists of the largest, with accommodation to rival many more recent and surely less elegant vessels. Multiple refits and upgrades over the years by her few and diligent owners have kept FLEURTJE an incredibly current, and increasingly efficient sailing superyacht. Her first circumnavigation beckons...

Always in Class: Lloyd’s ✠100A1 & ✠LMC 2020 Spain - Compressor change - Engine room escape repairs - Generator injection pumps, turbo and cylinder head work 2019 Spain - Main engines turbines work - Replacement Thordon stern gland bearings - Shaft alignment work 2018 - 2019 Spain - Shaft and props Lloyd’s inspection - Winter maintenance programme - Antifouling 2014 - TBA 2005 Norfolk, Virginia, USA - Propeller and deck works 2003 Savannah, USA - Major rig-out service - Refinishing 1994 - 1995 Pendennis, UK - Major refit, including: - Gerard Dykstra rig optimisation - New teak deck 1993 Astilleros de Mallorca, Spain - Exhausts; masts; propeller shafts 1984 - 1985 Very major refit Cantiere Navale dell'Argentario, Porto Santo Stefano, Italy - Main mast moved aft to present position - Given full staysail schooner rig configuration - Interior re-designed by Leila Kennedy - Re-engined

- Robert Clark design no: 175 - G. De Vries Lentsch Jr. yard no: 2500 - Laid down: 1958; Launched: 1959; Delivered: 1960 FLEURTJE was commissioned by Yiannis Carras (also known as John Carras), one of the most successful participants in the powerhouse that Greek shipowning became after the Second World War. But his ownership of CARITA as she was named at launching was little known, hidden behind a company name. And, despite owning the yacht described by Yachting World magazine as "the most remarkable and largest yacht yet built post war", unlike some of his contemporaries, man - and schooner - remained low profile. From the yacht's point of view this could easily be attributed to spending much of the first twenty plus years of her life apparently little used, moored at her owner's eponymous Porto Carras resort in the Toronean Gulf. The story goes that it was a cruise with CARITA that found the spot. Her name changed to ARGONAFTIS while still under Carras's ownership. The choice of Robert Clark as designer guaranteed a yacht touching all bases in performance. The hull design was hydrodynamically tested at the Nederlands Scheepsbouwkundig Proefstation (NSP) tank at Wageningen, prior to the keel being laid in Amsterdam by N.V. Amsterdamsche Scheepswerf, G. De Vries Lentsch Jr - now better known as Feadship - and the construction commencing under Lloyd's ✠100A1 supervision. The Lloyd's surveyor for the build, John Leather - who in later life, during the "classic yacht revival", would become a revered historian and author - remembered well the incongruity of Robert Clark's yard visits, impeccably rigged out as the English gentleman in brown bowler hat, bow tie and camel coat amid the ferrous nature of a steel shipbuilding yard. During the early stages of build, Yachting World reported that the original twin Davey, Paxman 597hp diesel engines alone were predicted to give a speed of 14 knots via Stones variable pitch, fully feathering propellers; one knot more than the speed previously considered suitable for power yachts of the same length. They went on to say: "Thus well powered and with adequate sail area, and with a hull of such excellent seaworthiness, it would be hard to find a vessel of more essentially fine seagoing qualities, not only in terms of comfort but also of ultimate safety." On launching in 1959 - with two huge floating cranes to ease her into the water because she was too long for the yard's slipway - Yachting World was again in awe, predicting with some accuracy: "she is, and will probably remain, a unique vessel." Despite thousands of sailing superyacht launchings over the past 25 years, FLEURTJE still regularly appears in published lists of the largest, with accommodation to rival many more recent and surely less elegant vessels. A mid-1980s change to what would become long and stable ownership by Dutch oil trader John Deuss breathed new life info this still superlative superyacht, not least from a very major refit at Cantiere Navale dell'Argentario north of Rome under the supervision of John Winterbotham and Richard Davies during which ease of sail handling was significantly updated. Her original 1960s interior was redesigned utilising the present oak panelling, all to designs by Leila Kennedy who had also been significantly involved in seeking out the yacht. Re-launched in 1985 under her present name FLEURTJE, as subsequent refit locations both sides of the Atlantic bear witness, she has finally gained her sea legs over the past 35 years. During a further major refit 1994-1995 at Pendennis Shipyard, Cornwall, England, under the supervision of Gerald Dykstra her rig design and sail handling systems were vastly improved to the extent that the crew required to sail FLEURTJE has been halved from her original launch. She was a regular and spectacular competitor at Antigua Classic Regatta in the mid 2000s, comfortably standing up to all eight sails in tradewind conditions. Her present owners - only the fourth in 60 years - have continued the care process into the second half century of this remarkable classic superyacht that has been the maritime love of each owner's life. ©2024 Iain McAllister/ Sandeman Yacht Company Ltd.

CONSTRUCTION

Lloyd’s ✠100A1 & ✠LMC - Steel hull - Aluminium superstructures - Raw teak laid deck 30mm, on 30mm plywood, on steel deck beams

ACCOMMODATION AND DOMESTIC EQUIPMENT

Gross Tonnage: 295 - Accommodation for 12 (+/-2) guests - In 6 cabins - Full baths in all 6 cabins - Accommodation for captain, and 9 crew forward AFT DECKHOUSE ENTRY VIA DOUBLE DOORS TO SALOON - Sofas to port and starboard - Coffee table - Book cabinets - Wine racks - TV and music system - Athwartships sideboards port and starboard - Pillars as semi screen - Electric sockets - Bulkhead mounted lamps - Deckhead spots FWD TO DINING AREA - Dining table seats 10 - Removable fiddles - Sideboards to port - Bulkhead mounted lamps - Deckhead spots FWD TO CORRIDOR ATHWARTSHIPS - Door to port side deck - Door to dining area and saloon - Door to starboard side deck - 6 x bulkhead lights - Picture lights - Deckhead spots ATHWARTSHIPS GALLEY FORWARD - 2 x Stainless steel sinks - 1 x Winterhalter steam dishwasher - 1 x Panasonic 1040 microwave oven - 1 x Gaggenau 6 place electric stove - 1 x Large Gaggenau oven - 1 x Salamander - 1 x Large glass double fronted drinks fridge - 1 x Scotsman AC45 Ice Maker - 1 x Miele extractor type DA191 - 1 x Liebherr Refrigerator, st/st (new 2004) - 1 x st/st Liebherr freezer (new 2004) MOVING FORWARD AND DOWN TO ACCOMMODATION - Down stair from athwartships passage - (To starboard of fore and aft landing to galley) 45 DEGREE ANGLED DOOR TO STARBOARD AFT INTO OWNER'S CABIN - Aft facing double berth - Bedside table lockers with standard lamps - Banquette to port - Bureau - Book cabinets - Hanging lockers - En-suite bathroom to port - Bath and shower - 2 x sinks; 2 x mixer taps - Automatic wc - 3 x Opening ports - 2 x Bulkhead lights - 2 x Deckhead light DOOR TO PORT AFT TO DOUBLE CABIN - Double berth - Bedside table lockers with standard lamps - Hanging lockers - TV - 2 x Opening ports - 2 x Bulkhead lights - 1 x Deckhead light - En-suite bathroom - Bath and shower - Automatic wc - 1 x Opening ports - 2 x Bulkhead lights - 1 x Deckhead light 45 DEGREE ANGLED DOOR TO PORT MID DOUBLE CABIN - Double berth - Banquette - Bureau - Hanging lockers - 2 x Opening ports - 1 x Bulkhead lights - 1 x Deckhead light - En-suite bathroom - Bath and shower - Basin with mixer taps - Automatic wc - 1 x Opening port - 2 x Bulkhead lights - 1 x Deckhead light FORWARD IN PASSAGE; CABIN TO MID STARBOARD - Double berth - Bedside locker; standard lamp - Banquette - Hanging lockers - Bureau and chair - 2 x Opening ports - 1 x Bulkhead lights - 1 x Deckhead light - En-suite bathroom - Bath and shower - Basin with mixer taps - Automatic wc - 2 x Bulkhead lights - 1 x Deckhead light FORWARD IN PASSAGE; CABIN TO FWD PORT - 2 x Single berths - 2 x Berthside lockers with lamps - Bureau and chair - TV - 1 x Bulkhead picture lights - 2 x Opening ports - 1 x Bulkhead light - En-suite bathroom - Bath and shower - Basin with mixer taps - Automatic wc - 1 x Bulkhead lights 45 DEGREE ANGLED DOOR TO CABIN TO FWD STARBOARD - Double berth - 2 x Bedside lockers; 2 x standard lamps - Hanging locker - TV and DVD - 2 x Opening ports - 1 x Bulkhead picture light - 1 x Bulkhead light - 1 x Deckhead light - En-suite bathroom - Bath and shower - Basin with mixer taps - Automatic wc - 1 x Opening port VARNISHED TEAK PILOTHOUSE - Access via port and starboard steps to bridge wings - Teak side doors port and starboard - Teak cappings and trim - Ship's wheel - Kobalt engine controls - Full size chart table aft - Drawers under - Navigation instruments - Systems indicators - 4 x Deckhead lights FORWARD STARBOARD STEPS DOWN TO RADIO ROOM - And captain's saloon - Teak carpentry - Settee to starboard - Drop-leaf table - Large hanging locker - Long bureau to port - Stowage under - Shelves for manuals/ admin files - Ship's isolator panel - Computer screen - Ship's radios - 4 x Deckhead lights FORWARD TO CAPTAIN's CABIN - Double berth - En-suite wc - Hanging locker - Other stowage CREW ACCOMMODATION - Access via forward teak trunk cabin - WC/ shower to starboard - 2 x Bunk cabin to starboard - 2 x Bunk cabin to port - WC/ shower to starboard - WC/ shower to port - Fo'c'sle - 4 x berths MOVING AFT IN CREW ACCOMMODATION TO CREW GALLEY/ MESS Galley - Miele 4 x burner hob - 3 x Stainless steel sinks - Fridge/ Freezer - Grill - Microwave Mess - Semi U-shaped seating area - 2 x Tables - Access to bilge under - Panasonic NE1027 microwave oven - Miele extractor type DA191 - Gaggenau 6 place electric stove - Large Gaggenau oven - Salamander - Miele G656SC dishwasher - Large glass-fronted refrigerator - VHF Radio - TV; DVD - 4 x Opening ports - 5 x Deck lights - Chef's cabin; ensuite - Mates cabin; 2 x bunks Laundry Room - 2 x Miele Pro WS5427 washing machines - 2 x Miele Pro T5206 dryers - Professional ironing machine - Scotsman AC85 ice maker - Deep freeze and cool room

DECK LAYOUT, EQUIPMENT AND GROUND TACKLE

- Varnished teak handrail capping - On high steel bulwark - Bronze stanchions FROM AFT - 2 x Bronze mooring cleats port and starboard - Panama fairleads with rollers - Ash mainsheet blocks - Bronze warping winch - Teak helm seats - Ship's wheel and brass compass binnacle - Bronze helm/ rudder position indicator - Teak scuttle to lazarette and engine room - Large teak dining table seating 4 or 6 MIZZEN MAST POSITION - Pin rails port and starboard - Running backstays; ash blocks - 2 x Bronze electric winches port and starboard ALUMINIUM TRUNK CABIN - Teak laid roof - Watertight doors and teak doors into saloon - Panama fairleads port and starboard - Bronze mooring cleats port and starboard - Teak cabin roof - Teak deck - 2 x Manual derricks for launching large tenders; gooseneck on mainmast - Butterfly skylight hatch - RIB to port with outboard - RIB to starboard with jet drive MAIN MAST POSITION - Pin rails port and starboard at shroud bases - Ladder down from aft cabin/ saloon trunk - 2 x Seaway Francis bronze winches on pedestals port and starboard - Lockers/ seating port and starboard - Varnished ladders port and starboard to pilot house To starboard side of saloon deckhouse - Doors to galley - Access corridor forward of saloon - Deck shower - Ladders to deckhouse roof port and starboard To port side of saloon deckhouse - Doors to engine room - Corridor fwd of saloon/ galley FORWARD STEPPED ROOF DECKHOUSE - 2 x Teak laid roofs (sunbathing area) - Furuno dome - Teak and steel upstand for forestaysail boom gooseneck - Lewmar 99 bronze sheet winch - Teak lockers to fwd of forward deck house FOREMAST POSITION - 4 x Bronze Francis Marine Engineering 6000 electric winches - On upstands port and starboard - Traveller for forestaysail; ash and bronze blocks Crew companionway varnished teak deckhouse Panama fairleads port and starboard 2 x Mooring cleats port and starboard Anchor windlass believe Thos Reid & Son, Paisley - 2 x Warping drums; 2 x chain gipsys - Ship's bell - Steel gooseneck pedestal for fore staysail boom - Harken 14.2 fore staysail sheet winch - Panama fairleads with bronze rollers port and starboard - Varnished lockers port and starboard

RIG, SAILS AND CANVASWORK

RIG - Optimised for performance and ease of handling by Gerard Dykstra (1995) - All sails have Harken hydraulic reefing Douglas Fir Mizzen mast (1991) - Spruce boom - Double spreaders - Harken roller luff mizzen furler - Bronze Harken 14.2 sheet winch - Pin rails port and starboard Mizzen staysail spruce boom on pedestal gooseneck Douglas Fir Mainmast (1991) - Double spreaders Main staysail spruce boom on pedestal gooseneck Douglas Fir Foremast (1991) - Double spreaders Fore staysail spruce boom on steel pedestal gooseneck - Harken bronze 14.2 self tailing manual sheeting winch Douglas fir bowsprit - Stainless steel spreaders and dolphin striker Sheet winches - 7 x Seaway electric 2-speed - 3 x Harken manual - 3 x Harken 74 2-speed electric SAILS Hood 2016 - 2020 Doyle 2012 - Harken hydraulic luff furling for all sails - Mizzen - Mizzen staysail - Main fisherman - Main staysail - Fore fisherman - Outer jib - Inner jib - Boomed fore staysail - Gennaker CANVASWORK - Covers for all brightwork deck structures - Covers for winches - Covers for tenders - Aft deck awning

MECHANICAL, ELECTRICAL AND TANKAGE

MECHANICAL - 2 x CAT 3412TA 624hp main engines - Hours @ 31 May 2020 Port: 10,841 - Hours @ 31 May 2020 Starboard: 10,647 - Max speed 15 knots - Cruising speed 10 knots - Range: 3000 nautical miles @ 8 knots - Consumption: 67 L / 17.7 USG - Engine controls at bridge, bridge wings and aft - 3 x CAT 3304 80 Kw Generators - Hours @ 31 May 2020: 46,109; 45,384; 45,219 - 1 x Mitsubishi-Solé 35 Kw Port Generator ( 2014 ) - Hours @ 31 May 2020: 5,465 - Traditional drive train - 2 x Korsør 4-blade controllable pitch propellers - Quantum 100 hp bow thruster ELECTRICAL - Batteries: all 24 V - Emergency lights - GMGSS Batteries - Engine start batteries - Lights all LED 110V ( three transformers 220 to 110 ) TANKAGE - Fuel: 32,000 L / 8,454 US G - Range: 3000 nautical miles @ 8 knots - Consumption: 67 L / 17.7 USG - Fresh water: 21,830 L / 5767 US G - 2 x HEM Watermakers 20,000 L / day - Hamman sewage treatment COMFORT - CruiseAir reverse Cycle Aircon - 2 x New chillers for the AC plant (2016)

NAVIGATION, COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS

NAVIGATION/ ELECTRONICS - 1 x Ritchie Inc Magnetic compass (2005) - 1 x Anshütz gyro compass - 1 x Robertson AP9 Mk 3 autopilot - 1 x B&G Hydra echo sounder - 2 x Furuno LS-6100 echo sounder (2005) - 1 x Furuno FR 1505 MkII 72 mile range radar - 1 x Furuno radar type 7062 48 mile range - 1 x Furuno GP32 GPS - 1 x B&G GPS - 1 x Maxsea World chart inventory chart plotter - 1 x Furuno NX-300 Navtex receiver (2016) - 1 x Furuno NX-700 Navtex receiver (2016) - 1 x B&G log - 1 x B&G windspeed, direction, apparent wind - 1 x B & G sailing monitor - 1 x Furuno A3 GMDSS console /DSC receiver - 1 x Furuno FA150 AIS (2014) COMMUNICATIONS - 1 x Furuno FELCOM 250 Satcom (2015) - 1 x Iridium Sailor Sat Phone - 1 x Fleet 77 Inmarsat - 1 x Sailor C403 VHF radio - 1 x JRC JHS770S VHF radio - 1 x Standard Horizon GX3000E DSC VHF - 2 x ICOM type IC-GM1600E VHF - 4 x Hand-held VHF radio - 1 x ICOM type M100 hand-held VHF radio - 1 x VHF radiotel (crew mess) - 1 x Cellular - any SIM network via internet - 1 x Panasonic intercom to all comms systems - 1 x Furuno FS2575C SSB radio (2015) - On board wifi

- 2 x 12 man inflatable cased liferafts - 2 x 8 man inflatable cased liferafts - 4 x Life Rings - 2 x MOB markers - 2 x MOB modules 406 - 2 x EPIRB - 1 x SART - Second standby steering pump - Second standby air-co pump - New Bilge separator (2015)

OTHER EQUIPMENT

- Substantial teak pasarelle - Teak boarding ladder stowed stbd side saloon deckhouse - 1 x 4.80 m Ribeye RIB w. 36 hp Yanmar Diesel

IMAGE CREDIT

Sailing images: Tim Wright/ Photo Action Historical: Port Carras Grand Resort brochure / Iain McAllister collection

These particulars have been prepared from information provided by the vendors and are intended as a general guide. The purchaser should confirm details of concern to them by survey or engineers inspection. The purchaser should also ensure that the purchase contract properly reflects their concerns and specifies details on which they wish to rely.

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Legendary tycoon John Deuss’s latest exploit is cutting a money-laundering deal with Dutch prosecutors

A money-laundering settlement in Amsterdam closes the latest chapter in the long career of John Deuss, one of the most successful international wheeler-dealers of recent decades.

Deuss, a 71-year-old Dutchman, agreed to pay $47 million to settle a grueling, seven-year battle with European authorities over an alleged Internet fraud scheme. Apropos to a charmed life on the edge, Deuss admitted no guilt in the July 30 deal. “The settlement is the result of pragmatic considerations,” he said in a statement issued by his office.

Known best in oil trading and champion horseracing circles, Deuss earned a massive fortune helping apartheid South Africa to bypass international sanctions. Along with American commodities pioneer Marc Rich , Deuss arranged ingenious evasions to bring secret Soviet and Iranian oil to the South African port of Durban, including false flags, doctored cargo papers and mid-sea cargo transshipments. Estimates vary widely as to how much Deuss and Rich earned during the period—according to one source , South Africa paid $22 billion in premiums for its oil supply, mainly to Deuss and Rich, from 1973 to 1984—but the best approximation is that Deuss himself earned between $280 million and $500 million. Asked at the time about his role in propping up apartheid, Deuss cooly answered  that the embargo was “counterproductive to correcting the sociopolitical problems in that country.”

Next came forays into magazine publishing, running a modeling agency, and raising champion jumping horses in Florida, Connecticut and Bermuda, which became his home. In the 1990s, Deuss wrested control of the only export pipeline route from Kazakhstan’s Tengiz oilfield, the largest on Chevron’s books. Ultimately Deuss was the loser in that deal, pushed out when Chevron managed to turn the situation into an international incident, persuading the Clinton Administration to lobby against the Dutchman with the Russians, the Kazakhs, and international banks. No one would fund Deuss’s pipeline, and he ended up back in Bermuda.

The charges in Europe revolve around First Curacao International Bank (FCIB), which Duess owned for a time.  Prosecutors alleged that celebrities such as Ekaterina Berezovskaya, daughter of the late Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky, moved money among FCIB accounts in a manner resembling money laundering. They also said the bank was a haven for carousel fraud—a scheme in which culprits falsely claim VAT payouts, and seek refunds from the government. Britain claimed to have lost between 5 billion pounds and 10 billion pounds when some 2,500 merchants claimed refunds on cellphone purchases. Every suspect in the case did business at Deuss’ bank.

Over the years, both Deuss and the prosecutors dug in their heels. Their deal favors both sides: the Dutch public purse will receive about half the $100 million that the prosecutor alleged that Deuss wrongly earned at FCIB, and Deuss will be clear of the charges. “The investigation has kept the parties busy for almost seven years already, and it is time-consuming and costly,” Deuss said in his statement. “The legal proceedings would have dragged on for years on end. This is now prevented.”

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How Commodity Traders Came To Run The World

What inspired you to jump into the murky waters of commodities trading, Jack? Javier and I were both journalists covering natural resources for the Financial Times , and we kept finding ourselves gobsmacked by the importance of a very small group of commodity trading companies, and equally surprised by how little anyone seemed to know about them. We wanted to learn more, but realised that almost no books had been written about them. That’s when we realised we’d have to go out there and get the story ourselves.

Tell us more about the importance of those companies… Within those companies, there are a few individuals who have played a huge role in shaping our modern world. The story we discovered was one of how money and power interact in ways that most people don’t understand. Commodity traders have been growing in importance from the end of the Second World War through to the present day. They have shaped history along the way, playing a role in everything from the collapse of the Soviet Union to the rise of China.

How much of this was uncharted territory? So much of the world of commodity traders is secretive, so a lot of what we found hasn’t been reported before. We spoke to more than 100 traders, many of whom have rarely if ever spoken in public before. Among other things, we discovered how American teachers’ pension savings went to fund an oil war in Iraq, with a little help from the world’s largest commodity trader; and we also found that the three largest commodity traders (which, because they are private companies, don’t have to publish accounts) made more money in the first decade of the 2000s than either Apple or Coca-Cola.

What was the discovery that surprised you the most? It was a surprise to hear people talking quite openly about bribery as if it was just another business expense. This is not just something that happened many years ago – the world’s largest oil trading company, Vitol, admitted to paying bribes in Latin America as recently as July 2020. And we were genuinely shocked to discover that in Switzerland, paying bribes to foreign companies was not only legal but also tax deductible until as recently as 2016.

What gives commodity traders their influence? Commodities mean money, and money means power – it’s as simple as that. As the companies who can turn commodities into cash for resource-rich governments or individuals, the traders get very close to power. And sometimes they influence it. Take the example of Vitol in the Libyan civil war of 2011. The Arab Spring was sweeping through the Middle East, and in Libya there was an uprising against the dictatorship of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi. But the rebels had a problem – they didn’t have enough fuel. Gaddafi controlled all the refineries. Then Ian Taylor, the boss of Vitol, flew in to Benghazi and agreed to supply the rebels with $1bn of fuel – and it wouldn’t need to be paid for until after the war had been won. There’s little doubt that Vitol’s intervention altered the course of the conflict.

How did the traders become so influential? A couple of big trends have benefited them massively over the past three-quarters of a century. One is the freeing up of global markets: the oil market, for example, used to be tightly controlled by the big oil companies known as the ‘Seven Sisters’. Then as governments in the Middle East, Africa and Latin America seized control of their resources, they needed someone to help them sell them – to turn them into cash – and the commodity traders stepped in.

The other big trend that worked in their favour was globalisation and the growth of global trade. More trade means more commodities that need to be traded, and so more money to be made for the traders. The most important development here was the growth of China, which triggered an enormous commodities boom in the 2000s.

Why do you think these once secretive people were happy to talk to you? Javier and I have been covering the commodity sector for a long time, so a big part of it was the network of contacts we’ve built up over that time. People in the commodity trading industry know us; they know we’re serious and diligent journalists – even if they might not always like what we write. And then we really squeezed our network – asking and begging contacts for introductions to the key people we wanted to speak to.

Does the world need commodities traders? Yes. Put simply, because supply and demand of commodities don’t always match. Coffee is grown in Colombia and Ethiopia and Indonesia, but it is drunk all over the world. Someone has to get it from the farm to your local coffee shop – and that someone is a commodity trader.

So there are things we should be thanking commodities traders for? They make markets more efficient, which contributes to lower prices for goods for all of us. For example, last year, when coronavirus struck and oil prices collapsed, it was the commodity traders that stepped in and bought up oil for next to nothing, holding it until prices rose and the world needed it again. As a result, the oil price collapse only lasted for a short time. If they hadn’t don’t that, the oil price would have been much lower for much longer, more oil companies would have gone bust, and – paradoxically – now that the world needs oil again, it might not have been available.

What makes a successful commodities trader? First of all, you need to have an interest in the world and a desire to make money. Then you need to be relentlessly hardworking, always looking for ways to make money – and also charming and personable.

What does an edge look like in commodities trading? It’s all about information. Commodity traders have huge networks of suppliers and buyers, and each deal gives them a little bit of information about what is happening in the market. Put it all together, and you have a level of insight that few other investors can match.

Why do you think commodities trading is dominated by white men? It’s a corner of the business world that hasn’t changed with the times as fast as other areas have. A couple of years ago we spent some time with our Bloomberg News colleagues looking at the top management of commodity trading companies, and found that fewer than one in 20 of their senior staff were women. One part of the reason is that many commodity trading companies are privately owned, so they haven’t had the pressure from shareholders like other companies have to focus on diversity.

Why are there so few commodities traders? There are actually a lot of commodity traders, but there are only a few really big commodity traders: five trading houses handle a quarter of the global oil market; seven control half of the world’s food commodities; and the metals markets are dominated by just two companies. Why? It is an industry where size matters. And there is very little regulation.

Are all commodities traders dodgy to some extent? Or does the sector have some upstanding players? My day job still involves writing about commodity trading companies, so I probably shouldn’t answer that question…!

Does commodities trading have to be as furtive as it is? Not entirely. We’ve seen in the past few years that a number of the traders have become a lot more transparent – most notably Glencore, which since 2011 is a publicly listed company and so publishes lots of information about itself. But because information is the traders’ edge, they’ll always be cautious about revealing too much information about their trades.

Should it be better regulated? Without doubt, regulators ought to have a much better understanding of what the commodity traders are doing and how they operate. We’ve been shocked in the past to receive calls from some governments and regulators to ask us basic questions about the industry and the markets. And there needs to be better coordination: commodity trading is a truly global business, so one country alone can only do so much.

Why has it been so hard to regulate to this point? Few regulators focus on the actual physical commodities – like barrels of oil or bushels of wheat – instead, they spend their time looking at derivatives like futures and options. One reason is that the physical markets are hard to regulate: the trade in commodities often takes place on the high seas, beyond the reach of any one nation’s laws. And commodity traders themselves can move relatively easily, so they tend to be found in the places with the most lax regulatory regimes.

Is there any prospect of change on the horizon? The US appears to be scrutinizing the sector very carefully, particularly when it comes to corruption. That’s already changing some behavior. But there’s little movement towards a globally coordinated system of regulation for commodity traders.

Finally, Jack, some pretty remarkable characters pop in and out of the book. Tell us about your favourite… John Deuss was the epitome of the freewheeling trader, and one of the dominant figures in the oil market of the 1970s and 1980s. With his mop of sandy-coloured hair, carefully parted on the side, and pinstriped suits with oversized lapels, Deuss looked like a character straight out of the film Wall Street. But his lifestyle was more like that of a Bond villain. From his base in Bermuda, he entertained business contacts and friends on his 187ft-long, three-mast yacht. His typical entourage included two English sheepdogs, and a troupe of bodyguards and striking female assistants. He crisscrossed the globe on one of his two Gulfstream private jets. He was unafraid to play politics, even becoming an adviser to the Sultan of Oman, and he gambled on the price of oil with abandon, making and losing hundreds of millions of dollars at a time.

The World For Sale by Javier Blas & Jack Farchy is published by Random House Business. Buy it here .

DISCLAIMER: We endeavour to always credit the correct original source of every image we use. If you think a credit may be incorrect, please contact us at [email protected] .

The SLMan Edit

Everything You Need For Stylish Living

Johannes "John" Christiaan Martinus Augustinus Maria Deuss is a Dutch businessman. Deuss has been termed "one of the most successful international wheeler-dealers of recent decades". EIR termed him " Shackley 's piggybank", [1] the Guardian "one of the world's most enigmatic multi-millionaires". He was "known best in oil trading and champion horse-racing circles, [and] earned a massive fortune helping apartheid South Africa to bypass international sanctions." [2]

“Secretly procuring oil for South Africa is the business of a very select group of oil traders . Besides Deuss , the central players include West German Gert Lutter ; Marc Rich , a fu­gitive from American justice; and the South Africa-based Italian, Marino Chiavelli .” EIR  (24 June 1988)  [3]

• 2 Sanctions evasion
• 3 First Curaçao International Bank
• 4 Internet Fraud
• 5 References

Connections

"When still a nobody in the early 1970s, Deuss developed a friendship with Vasily Y. Merkulov , president of the Soviet petroleum exporting' agency VIO Soyuznefteexport (SNE). [1] After Ted Shackley left the CIA in 1979, John Deuss helped him in oil deals. [1]

Deuss was targeted by suspected Operation Gladio / Inlichtingen en Operatiën group RaRa in the 1980s for his support for South Africa. [4] [5]

Sanctions evasion

"Along with US commodities pioneer Marc Rich , Deuss arranged ingenious evasions to bring secret Soviet and Iranian oil to the South African port of Durban , including false flags, doctored cargo papers and mid-sea cargo transshipments. Estimates vary widely as to how much Deuss and Rich earned during the period — according to one source, South Africa paid $22 billion in premiums for its oil supply, mainly to Deuss and Rich, from 1973 to 1984—but the best approximation is that Deuss himself earned between $280 million and $500 million." [2]

First Curaçao International Bank

“An international warrant had been issued for Mr Deuss's arrest after a bank he owns on Curaçao , in the Dutch Antilles , was closed last month during an Anglo-Dutch investigation into carousel fraud. British Customs officials had discovered that every individual arrested and charged with the fraud in the UK in the previous two years had an account at the First Curaçao International Bank (FCIB). Since raiding its headquarters and freezing its assets, investigators have discovered that about 2,500 British citizens suspected of carousel fraud hold accounts there.” John Deuss  (16 October 2006)  [6]

Deuss also paid a settlement of 35 million euros to the Dutch government in 2012 for money laundering after paying an early settlement of about 350.000 euros for fraud. [7]

Internet Fraud

"Deuss, a 71-year-old Dutchman, agreed to pay $47 million to settle a grueling, seven-year battle with European authorities over an alleged Internet fraud scheme. Apropos to a charmed life on the edge, Deuss admitted no guilt in the July 30 deal. “The settlement is the result of pragmatic considerations,” he said in a statement issued by his office." [2] The fraud was ongoing for years. [8]

• ↑ a b c https://larouchepub.com/eiw/public/1988/eirv15n26-19880624/eirv15n26-19880624_035-john_deuss_shackleys_piggybank.pdf
• ↑ a b c http://qz.com/110697/legendary-tycoon-john-deusss-latest-exploit-is-cutting-a-money-laundering-deal-with-dutch-prosecutors/
• ↑ https://larouchepub.com/eiw/public/1988/eirv15n26-19880624/eirv15n26-19880624_035-john_deuss_shackleys_piggybank.pdf EIR
• ↑ https://pure.uva.nl/ws/files/4498211/127390_19.pdf
• ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/business/2006/oct/16/crime.uknews The Guardian
• ↑ http://www.ftm.nl/original/nederlandse-olietycoon-john-deuss-treft-schikking-met-om.aspx
• ↑ http://curacaochronicle.com/main/major-settlement-first-curacao-international-bank-john-deuss/
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Breakingviews - Review: The wild history of the commodities boys

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Too early to bank on shell's russian cash.

Vladimir Putin has decided that Shell’s 27.5% stake in a major Siberian liquefied gas field will be bought by Gazprom , the state-owned gas group, and not by rival Novatek . The British energy company is however unlikely to see the $1 billion theoretical value of the sale anytime soon.

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Five charged with impaired driving

driving charges.

On Thursday, first time offender Everest John Mello was fined $750 and banned from driving for one year yesterday after he pleaded guilty to impaired driving.

Mello, 60, of Granaway Heights, Southampton, admitted before Magistrate Edward King to driving with nearly three times the legal limit of alcohol in his system on November 16.

Crown counsel Wayne Caines told the court that Mello was followed by a Police mobile patrol as he drove a private car at 1 a.m. on Sun Valley Road.

Mello was driving slowly and erratically and was seen to turn into a private driveway.

There Police found him reclined in the driver's seat with the engine off but the key still in the ignition.

Mello's speech was slurred and he smelled strongly of alcohol, and he told Police: "I had a few beers.'' He was found to have 257 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood.

The legal limit is 80 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood.

On Friday, Rambahadur Dewan, a deckhand on millionaire John Deuss' yacht Fleurtje was fined $1,000 and also banned from driving by Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner after he admitted driving while impaired and causing an accident on November 25.

Dewan, 39, was questioned by Police at 8.25 p.m. after an accident with a taxi.

He told Police: "Yes, I had a few drinks. I know it was wrong, so I'll take the test.'' Despite volunteering to go to Hamilton Police Station to provide a breath sample, Dewan did not blow properly in to the machine. The charge of "failing or refusing to comply'' with the demand of the sample was dropped.

Robert Shuzanzia Rosario, 33, of Paget was followed on Pitt's Bay Road, Pembroke on November 24 and later found to be impaired.

Police saw Rosario's cycle weaving about the road and was repeatedly applying his brakes before he was stopped.

Rosario, a chef, was fined $1,000 and also banned from driving for one year.

Daniel Smith admitted to driving while impaired on November 25 and was similarly fined by Mr. Warner.

A 59-year-old without any previous convictions, Smith was stopped by a mobile patrol on Serpentine Road at 1.30 a.m.

Smith, of Pitts Bay Road, was also fined $1,000 and banned and he earned other $250 and $100 fines for riding an unlicensed cycle and not having third party insurance.

Two other men will be tried in the future for impaired driving and riding.

Micah Hollis and Mark Terell Drew pleaded not guilty to driving while impaired and "without reasonable and probable excuse'' failed or refused to provide a breath sample.

Drew, of Brimstone Hill, Devonshire, will be tried on February 6 while Hollis, whose address is not known, will be tried on February 22. they were released on minimal bail.

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Profile: Amsterdam banker on Curaçao John Deuss (77)

WILLEMSTAD - Almost fourteen years after the raid on the castle of the much-discussed millionaire and oil baron John Deuss in Berg en Dal due to an investigation into large-scale tax fraud, this week his First Curaçao International Bank (FCIB) has settled for an unknown amount with the Public Prosecution Service (OM) in Curaçao.

According to the OM, the bank, of which John's sister Tineke was the director, acts as a hub for criminal entrepreneurs in the United Kingdom who have scammed the British government for € 7.5 billion with the help of VAT carousel fraud. Justice is tracking his bank because a striking number of VAT fraudsters were found to be holding an account with FCIB based in Curaçao. It is not unlikely that the balances on their FCIB accounts belong to the bank balances that were confiscated this week by the judicial authorities and that are likely to be closed soon.

The 77-year-old businessman Deuss, who was born in Amsterdam started his working life as a dealer in Japanese cars but after the bankruptcy of his Dutch automobile factory he moved to the oil trade: JOC (Johns Own Company), which was later renamed to the slightly more professional sounding Trans World Oil. Initially, John mainly sold Russian oil, but when an international oil boycott was proclaimed against the South African apartheid regime in the late 1970s, Deuss jumps on behalf of some Saudi producers in meeting the oil needs that arose there. It gave him trouble with the militant group "Pyromania against Apartheid", which set fire to his castle in Berg en Dal in the Netherlands.

Deuss withdrew to the tax-friendly island of Bermuda and sets up the FCIB for his growing business empire, which received a full banking license from the central bank in Curaçao. In the years that follow, he also got other bank customers and at the same time he built a close bond with the president of the Central Bank of Curaçao and Sint Maarten (CBCS).

At the start of the fraud investigation in 2006 in Deuss's home country Bermuda, a true manhunt was opened for him, which would not have been out of place in the film classic Die Hard. Immediately after issuing his arrest warrant as a suspect of receiving stolen goods, money laundering and leading a criminal organization, half the police force of the islet (Vlieland is four times larger) pulled out one of their richest inhabitants and arrested him to deliver to the Netherlands. But Bermuda would not be Bermuda if Deuss hadn't disappeared in a spooky way before the police cars with flashing lights arrived. The mystery was already unraveled a few days later when it appeared that he had simply hidden in the shed where normally the pilots of his private aircraft were staying. Against payment of a ten-million-dollar deposit, he went home after a weekend of humming in a tight police cell in Bermuda's capital Hamilton.

Amstel Hotel

A week later, upon arrival at Schiphol, the banker was once again arrested and held for two months in pre-trial detention at the instructions of the then public prosecutor Hendrik Jan Biemond (now a partner at Allen & Overy and PvdA councilor in Amsterdam). Even then the hunt continued: during his custody, the police raided a hotel room in the chic Amstel Hotel to collect evidence against Deuss, since a - likewise suspected - American business partner of Deuss was staying there.

In 2013, John and his sister Tineke and FCIB finally reached a settlement with the Dutch judiciary for a fee of € 35 million, placing him in the top 10 of the largest settlements in the Netherlands. Added to this with the current settlement in Curaçao, his position in that list has been strengthened.

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15 men brought to military enlistment office after mass brawl in Moscow Oblast

Local security forces brought 15 men to a military enlistment office after a mass brawl at a warehouse of the Russian Wildberries company in Elektrostal, Moscow Oblast on Feb. 8, Russian Telegram channel Shot reported .

29 people were also taken to police stations. Among the arrested were citizens of Kyrgyzstan.

A mass brawl involving over 100 employees and security personnel broke out at the Wildberries warehouse in Elektrostal on Dec. 8.

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“I have no words to describe how bad the situation is," said Yuri, who declined to provide his surname. "We have had no heating for almost six days."

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“It’s impossible to stay in our houses. We're freezing!” a group of women in the video said.

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“We are sending complaints everywhere but no one listens to us. We have portable heaters working in every room, but the temperature inside is still 10 degrees Celsius,” Yelena from Podolsk said.

“There is a clinic and a hospital, as well as kindergartens, where there is no heating. And we have no answers, no assistance, no explanation,” Yelena added.

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Local authorities linked the heating problems to the fact that the town is heated by a boiler plant owned by the Klimovsk Specialized Ammunition Plant, a private ammunition factory and one of the largest weapon cartridge production enterprises in the country.

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