A STEEL magnate who holds the dubious title of Britain's biggest bankrupt has been accused of secretly channelling £63 million to his family instead of settling business debts.
Pramod Mittal, 68, who lives in Mayfair, is being sued at London's High Court by his former company Global Steel Holdings.
The firm claims Mittal owes $216m (about £167m) and has engaged in "fraudulent and schematic asset stripping".
The court heard that Global Steel and its subsidiary received a $496m settlement from the Nigerian government between September 2022 and February 2023. The company alleged that Mittal and his family "siphoned away" $180m, with $81m transferred to his wife Sangeeta and their adult children Vartika, 40, Shristi, 37, and Divyesh, 35.
Graeme Halkerston, representing the company's liquidators, told the court: "Vartika and Divyesh were two such individuals," referring to claims that Mittal placed "yes men" in the corporate structure. He added that the family had shown a "history of obstruction" and had been "willing to rely upon fabricated evidence to divert assets away from company creditors".
The steel tycoon gained public attention in 2013 when his daughter Shristi's wedding reportedly cost £50m. More recently, his son Divyesh's 2023 marriage to Jake Prior was described as "The first big fat Indian gay wedding".
Despite his family's lavish celebrations, Mittal was declared bankrupt in 2020, claiming debts of £2.7 billion. He subsequently arranged an individual voluntary agreement (IVA) to pay just 0.18p for every pound owed. However, this agreement was later overturned by a judge after hearing allegations that many of the supposed debts were "shams" created for a "fraudulent purpose".
The court was also told that Mittal's father Mohan, 98, provided $200m to help settle a debt with an Indian government trading company, reportedly leading to the dropping of a criminal case.
Stephen Ryan, Mittal's counsel, argued that Global Steel was acting with "extreme haste" while his client was still constrained by bankruptcy, calling it "extremely prejudicial to Mittal".
Deputy Insolvencies and Companies Court Judge Daniel Schaffer said, "He [Mittal] fights everything. What I am saying is he is not going to walk away from this." The judge added that Mittal's father would likely help pay legal costs if asked.
Mittal's brother Lakshmi, 74, heads ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steel maker, and reportedly has a fortune of £14.9bn.
Global Steel claims that all Mittal family members named in the suit "reside in London and have all held positions or directorships in companies which form part of the Mittal corporate structure at various points in time".
The case continues.
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