Under-fire Liberty Steel owner Sanjeev Gupta faces French investigation
French authorities are investigating Sanjeev Gupta’s business dealings, according to The Financial Times.
Gupta is the chairman and CEO of GFG Alliance, which specialises in mining, industry and trading.
The firm has been struggling with rising energy costs and the collapse of Greensill Capital which funded many of its acquisitions worldwide.
The Paris Prosecutor’s Office said it was probing the firm’s French operations over allegations of “misuse of corporate assets” and “money laundering”.
The authorities have reportedly highlighted GFG Alliance’s financial agreement with Glencore to prevent its Dunkirk smelter falling into the hands of American Industrial Partners (AIP)
AIP pounced after a unit of Gupta’s metals empire had defaulted on outstanding loans.
It then announced the smelter’s acquisition last month.
GFG Alliance has since filed a high court claim against AIP, and rejected the takeover attempt of a key asset.
However, AIP has said that the transfer of ownership had been approved by French authorities and welcomed by France’s economy and industry ministers.
The investigation caps off a difficult week for the UK metal magnate, who was heavily criticised by MPs in a Westminster committee report.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy committee has called for the Insolvency Service to look into whether Gupta breached his fiduciary duties as company director.
It has also pushed for regulatory authorities to investigate King & King, the auditors of multiple GFG Alliance businesses.