According to a Reuters report appearing in the South China Morning Post, this move was part of an investigation into suspected tax evasion on imported oil.
Gunvor confirmed to the media that its employee had been detained for questioning without naming him. The trading house also said it had not been notified of a formal arrest or any charges against its employee.
“Gunvor itself has not been formally notified of any investigation involving the company,” a Geneva-based spokesman for the company reportedly said to Reuters.
He also said that following the detention, the company had looked into the activities of its employee and found nothing wrong.
China has stepped up efforts to crack down on fuel smuggling, which increased after the authorities raised consumption taxes on oil products in 2014, creating price gaps between domestic prices and those abroad.
China imports most of its commodities from many trading houses and had previously investigated some employees. Chinese customs views import tax evasion as smuggling, Reuters explained.
The customs office for Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province in southern China, said it had seized a foreign-flagged tanker and detained several individuals.
It said it was investigating suspected smuggling of light cycle oil (LCO), a refinery by-product for diesel blending, without identifying the vessel or the individuals.
A senior official at China Changjiang National Shipping Group Corp said that its vessel, the Hong-Kong-flagged 2008-built MR ‘CSC Friendship’, had been held “to help investigations” of Guangzhou customs.
Gunvor said it had delivered oil products to China on the vessel on 10 - 14 May, but added that “no vessel while under charter by Gunvor has been detained. Gunvor’s business in China is otherwise ongoing,” it reportedly said.
The detained Gunvor employee was believed to be Yin Dikun, managing director of Gunvor Singapore.
Gunvor said that following the detention of its Singapore office employee, it had appointed Timothy Legge, its chief risk officer, as acting managing director of Gunvor Singapore.
Zhou Jule, chairman of China Base Ningbo Group said his company had been the import agent for the cargo, according to Reuters. He said the cargo had been detained as part of an investigation and that his staff had been summoned by the Guangzhou customs, but not detained.
China Base said it had re-sold the cargo to Twinace Oil, a Guangzhou based fuel dealer, according to Chinese sources. Twinace declined to comment when asked by Reuters/South China Morning Post.