Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Monday, Sep 15, 2025

UK Opens Fraud Probe Into Billionaire Sanjeev Gupta's Steel Group

UK Opens Fraud Probe Into Billionaire Sanjeev Gupta's Steel Group

GFG Alliance, owned by Indian-British billionaire Sanjeev Gupta, had been Greensill's biggest customer at the time of the finance giant's notorious collapse.

Britain's Serious Fraud Office on Friday launched a probe into steelmaker GFG Alliance, focusing partly on links with its collapsed financier Greensill.

GFG Alliance, owned by Indian-British billionaire Sanjeev Gupta, had been Greensill's biggest customer at the time of the finance giant's notorious collapse.

GFG said it would cooperate fully with the investigation.

Greensill's spectacular implosion threatens 50,000 jobs at companies around the world that relied on its financing for their supply chains, including GFG.

It also has rekindled debate on close ties between the upper echelons of British politics and finance, with former prime minister David Cameron quizzed by lawmakers on his Greensill lobbying role this week.

"The SFO is investigating suspected fraud, fraudulent trading and money laundering in relation to the financing and conduct... of companies within the Gupta Family Group Alliance, including its financing arrangements with Greensill Capital UK Ltd," the SFO said in a brief statement on Friday.

It added that no further comment would be made on the live investigation.

In a separate statement, GFG Alliance said it "is making progress in the refinancing of its operations which are benefitting from... the very strong steel, aluminium and iron ore markets".

'Potentially criminal' allegations


Britain's City watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority earlier this week launched its own Greensill probe, revealing that "potentially criminal" allegations had been made about the circumstances of its collapse.

The Greensill affair shone a light on Gupta's own criticised business practices, with the UK government describing the GFG structure as "very opaque" after declining to rescue it.

Greensill Capital, which bypassed strict regulations forced upon traditional banks, specialised in short-term corporate loans via a complex and opaque business model that ultimately sparked its declaration of insolvency in March.

GFG has operations in more than 35 countries across the world, and annual global revenues of about $20 billion according to its website.

The group has 35,000 staff worldwide, including 5,000 in Britain where its Liberty Steel division is based.

Friday's news came one day after Cameron insisted he acted appropriately in controversial lobbying for Greensill.

British lawmakers questioned him following months of scandal and revelation about his lobbying ahead of the company's collapse.

The former Conservative leader, who was an adviser to Greensill and reportedly held lucrative stock options that are now worthless, maintains he was acting in the public good.

"I really believed in the solution that we had and we were putting to government that I thought would make a difference," Cameron told the virtual Treasury Committee hearing, in his first public appearance addressing the scandal.

"I would never put forward something that I didn't think was absolutely in the interests of the public good," he said, adding he was motivated to provide a solution for small business during "exceptional times".

'Damaging' lobbying claims


Cameron, in power from 2010 to 2016, faced a series of damaging claims he improperly and excessively lobbied former government colleagues seeking support for the stricken London-headquartered company early in the pandemic.

Documents showed this week that Cameron and his office staff last year sent ministers and officials 45 emails, texts and WhatsApp messages relating to Greensill, bypassing official channels.

Finance minister Rishi Sunak has previously said he "pressured" his staff to look into Cameron's requests, but insisted they independently assessed the proposals and ultimately rejected them.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson last month ordered a senior lawyer to investigate the entire episode.

Australian banker Lex Greensill, the founder of the bankrupt financial company, appeared Tuesday before the same committee and insisted he took "full responsibility" for its collapse.

"To all of those affected by this, I am truly sorry," Greensill said.

He also laid blame at insurer Tokio Marine, which withdrew cover to loans issued to Greensill clients amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
High-Stakes Trump-Putin Summit on Ukraine Underway in Alaska
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
×