Fraud-hit Aegean Marine Petroleum Network has filed for voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring in the US.
The bunker and tanker company, and certain of its subsidiaries, said the process will be carried out in bankruptcy court of the southern district of New York.
Support will be given by key strategic partner Mercuria Energy Group, the energy and commodities company.
Mercuria is providing more than $532m in post-petition financing to fund the restructuring and Aegean's working capital needs.
"It has also agreed to serve as the stalking horse bidder in a sale process designed to optimise the value of the company as a going concern," Aegean said.
"The company continues to explore value-maximising alternatives."
The move comes after the company alleged last week that more than a dozen employees — including members of senior management — orchestrated a half-billion dollar fraud scheme with an unnamed former affiliate as the primary beneficiary.
Following the results of an audit carried out by independent legal counsel hired by New York-listed Aegean, it said up to $300m of its assets were funneled to OilTank Engineering & Consulting after a 2010 deal to build an oil terminal in Fujairah.
Also, the company said some $200m in accounts receivable will be written off as unrecoverable. Auditors said those transactions, with shell companies, were carried out to obscure misappropriations to OilTank.
