The noose is tightening around Anglo-Indian steel magnate Sanjeev Gupta. The British authorities suspect of fraud its Gupta Family Group Alliance (GFG), struggling since the resounding bankruptcy of financier Greensill, its main lender. The Serious Fraud Office (SFO), the financial prosecutor's office
across the
Channel, announced on Friday that it had opened an investigation
"into suspicions of fraud, fraudulent trade and money laundering in the conduct of the activities of GFG Alliance companies , including his financial ties to Greensill ”.
GFG (20 billion euros of turnover) indicated to have taken note of this announcement and to be ready to “
cooperate fully with the investigation”
.
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The
Financial Times
recently reported on the Gupta Group handing over suspicious invoices to Greensill in exchange for funds. In fact, Greensill specialized in reverse factoring, which involves a business requesting a loan from a financier to pay its suppliers for it. However, according to the
Financial Times
, several companies mentioned in the invoices have denied being clients of GFG. The group, however, denied any wrongdoing. For his part, Greensill, whose model has been compared to a
"pyramid fraud
" by former British Treasury officials, now members of the House of Lords, was not required to check the bills.
This is another blow for Sanjeev Gupta, who is desperately seeking new funds, in particular to avoid plant closures at his steel arm Liberty Steel. The latter has already announced that it is looking for buyers for its French factories acquired in September 2020, the Ascoval steelworks and the Hayange rail factory.
