FLOUR SWINDLE IN AUSTRALIA.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume L, Issue 175, 25 October 1917, Page 1

FLOUR SWINDLE IN AUSTRALIA.

v —— ' ■ ♦ ■■"■ £35,000 INVOLVED. FOtRGED BILLS OF LA-DING* < *' FOR OABdk>i THAT DID." NOT exist.- • ■ ;■ (Punas Association. —Copybiqhl.J (Rec. 1.30 p.m.) SYDNEY, Oct. 25.. Advices from London state- that .a sensation has been caused in commercial circles by the discovery of a big flour swindle in Australia. It 'appears 1 ' ' that a syndicate opened negotiation's with a reputable Capetown firm for ,the ' disposal of a cargo of flour of the value of £35,000. . ' -./;'' The transaction was completed. Cash' was paid against bills of lading which were duly presented, and the buyers drawn upon, a large proportion being negotiated in Australia. Ifc was afterwards discovered that the .cargo did not exist and that the bills of lading were clever forgeries. As a sequel Bruce Bridekirk (described as the man-, ager and proprietor of a general agrin-, . cy and trading company) and Ferdinand' Henz, master mariner ,have been W; rested at Sydney and remanded*'6n charges of conspiracy to defraud"' ;the London Bank of Australia large sums by means of alleged false. bills of "lair-* ing which . represented ' that they had. . shipped goods, to South Africa through, the Atlas Shipping Coy, the latter <J«y« being non-existent. * . '."'.' **"