Sanjeev Gupta faces enforcement action from business regulator: report

BRITISH Indian steel tycoon Sanjeev Gupta is facing prosecution from Companies House for failing to submit financial accounts for over 70 companies linked to him in the UK, a report said.

Gupta could be fined or be barred from holding director positions, reported the Guardian.

His Gupta Family Group Alliance (GFG) is currently under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office for suspected fraud after the downfall of its primary lender, Greensill Capital, which collapsed in 2021.

The Companies House enforcement involves 76 companies associated with Gupta, including Liberty Commodities, the trading entity he founded, and several businesses tied to his Liberty Steel operations.

While Companies House confirmed the enforcement action, it did not provide further details. Gupta maintained his innocence, pleading not guilty to the charges.

In 2021, Gupta’s companies faced a financial crisis when Greensill Capital went bankrupt. Investigations revealed that Greensill had lent approximately £400m to Gupta’s firms, using the government-backed coronavirus large business interruption loan scheme.

This revelation prompted the SFO to initiate a criminal investigation into Gupta’s operations, looking into potential fraud, fraudulent trading, and money laundering within GFG.

A spokesperson for GFG said there are no significant issues with their accounts, asserting that the directors have taken all necessary steps to rectify the situation.

They added that unaudited accounts for their UK businesses were prepared and that GFG has been in regular contact with Companies House. The spokesperson said the legal proceedings would not impact their operations.

The next hearing related to the Companies House case is scheduled for January 2025, although no trial date has been set.

In a separate legal matter, Gupta is embroiled in a £117 million lawsuit with tycoon Lakshmi Mittal. His company, ArcelorMittal, is suing Gupta’s GFG Alliance as part of a long-standing dispute. It stems from a deal involving the sale of various European factories to Gupta’s company five years ago, the Telegraph reported last week.

ArcelorMittal has secured a freezing injunction against Gupta’s companies in Singapore and is intensifying its legal efforts in the UK. Mittal is pursuing Gupta in an attempt to enforce a multi-jurisdictional legal process, the report said.

A GFG spokesperson said the current dispute revolves around contested deferred compensation from 2019, with legal proceedings ongoing in confidential arbitration.

The spokesperson said these matters are at a holding company level and do not affect GFG’s operational capabilities.

GFG has also claimed it has been unable to maintain the steel plants acquired from ArcelorMittal in 2019 due to Mittal’s alleged dominance in the European market.