Noble Group challenged over mark-to-market accounting

A mysterious organisation called Iceberg Research has accused Noble Group of inflating the mark-to-market values of long-dated commodity trades. The Hong Kong-based trading firm is fighting back, but can't seem to put the controversy to rest

Yusuf Alireza, Noble Group

It has been a gruelling year for Noble Group, the Hong Kong-based commodity trading firm. Over a period of five weeks in February and March, a mysterious entity called Iceberg Research published three detailed reports attacking Noble's accounting practices. Among other things, the reports alleged that Noble had inflated the valuation of its 13% stake in Yancoal, an Australian coal miner, and had used aggressive mark-to-market accounting to pump up the value of long-term commodity transactions