The Financial Times reported on Sunday that the Paris Prosecutor’s Office has opened an investigation into Sanjeev Gupta’s business empire.
According to the newspaper, the Prosecutor’s Office is investigating Gupta’s French operations for ‘misuse of corporate assets’ and ‘money laundering.’ The investigation began in July after public officials reported suspicious activity.
‘We are not aware of any such investigation, and refute any suggestion of wrongdoing in our French operations,’ GFG said.
The government officials flagged Gupta’s deal with commodities trader Glencore Plc to thwart a takeover attempt by American Industrial Partners (AIP), a US private equity firm..
In a statement, GFG said, ‘There was a commercial agreement with Glencore at market rates to secure stable financing for the business.’
Officials also reported that GFG used 25 million euros ($28.89 million) from the Dunkirk smelter to settle litigation costs related to a dispute with Rio Tinto Plc.
GFG announced in August that it had reached an agreement with Rio Tinto regarding the purchase of the Dunkirk aluminium smelter in 2018.
After supply chain finance firm Greensill filed for insolvency in March, GFG has been scrambling to refinance its cash-strapped web of businesses in steel, aluminium and energy.
Serious Fraud Office (SFO) of the United Kingdom had opened an investigation into Gupta’s commodities empire earlier in May. The investigation focused on the conglomerate’s ties to the defunct lender Greensill Capital.
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