Noble Group booked future fees as profit — then lost 99% of its value

Noble Group was a Hong Kong-based commodity trader founded in 1986 by Richard Elman. Listed on the Singapore Exchange in 1997, it grew into a Fortune 500 company reporting $46 billion in revenue, trading energy, metals and minerals across 180 countries. In 2009, China Investment Corp took a 14.9% stake, cementing Noble's position as one of Asia's largest independent commodity houses.

In 2015, a research firm called Iceberg Research published reports accusing Noble of inflating the value of its long-term contracts. Noble's shares began a collapse that would wipe out 99% of their value. Its credit rating was cut to junk. Noble reported a $1.7 billion net loss for 2015 and fired CEO Yusuf Alireza in May 2016, but founder Elman stayed on.

Singapore's regulators investigated jointly — MAS, ACRA and the police. In August 2022, MAS imposed a S$12.6 million civil penalty, finding that Noble had classified long-term marketing agreements as financial instruments rather than service contracts, booking future fees before any service was rendered. Its financial statements from 2016 to 2018 were materially misleading. Noble completed a $3.5 billion debt restructuring in 2018, was delisted from the SGX, and by 2025 the rump had been absorbed by Vitol.