KEY PLAYERS

Other defendants in this case connected to John Fredriksen include his personal investment vehicles Famatown Finance, Hemen Holding and Geveran Trading.

CMB & the Saverys Family

Headquartered in Belgium, Compagnie Maritime Belge (CMB) is an international family-owned maritime group. Established in 1895, the Saverys family took control of the company in 1991. The firm has interests in dry bulk shipping, container shipping and chemical tankers. The combined entity maintains Euronav's listings on Euronext Brussels and the New York Stock Exchange. Alexander Saverys has been the CEO of CMB since 2014. 

EURONAV NV (now CMB.TECH)

Until 2023, Euronav was one of the largest oil shipping tanker companies in the world. Originally founded in Luxembourg, Euronav was bought by CMB in 1997. The family retained ownership of the company until 2015, after which they remained as investors while gradually reducing their shareholding over the years, including through an IPO on the New York stock exchange.  

By 2021, Euronav was one of the world’s largest crude tanker platforms. It had recently invested in a state-of-the-art fleet of very large crude carriers (VLCCs), which were widely regarded as the best and cleanest in the market. Surging energy prices following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 created a favorable macro-environment for Euronav, at which point Frontline acquired a stake of just under 10%. At this stage, the Saverys family’s holdings had been reduced to below the 5% reporting threshold.

After the derailed merger attempt with Frontline and the eventual breaking up of Euronav, CMB took control of the company via boardroom deals. CMB merged Euronav and CMB.TECH, a CMB start-up, in early 2024, voting to change its name to CMB.TECH in July 2024.

The new Chief Executive Officer of CMB.TECH is also CMB’s CEO, Alexander Saverys, who controls the management board alongside his brothers, Ludovic Saverys as Chief Financial Officer and Michael Saverys, the Chief Charting Officer. The company is now majority owned by the Saverys family, holding approximately 90% of all shares.  

John Fredriksen & Frontline

John Fredriksen is a Norwegian-born Cypriot oil tanker and shipping billionaire. Now in his 80s, Fredriksen owns the world's largest oil tanker fleet as well as a vast private fleet of more than 300 vessels. Fredriksen controls Frontline, which remains the largest oil tanker company on the New York Stock Exchange despite failing to merge with Euronav. John Fredriksen also has interests in offshore drilling, fish farming and dry bulk.