Businessman Prateek Gupta targeted by Trafigura bids to lift freeze

By Jonathan Browning

(Bloomberg) --Prateek Gupta, the Indian businessman targeted by Trafigura Group over the startling nickel fraud, moved to lift the worldwide freezing order held against him.
 

Gupta formally filed his court challenge Friday seeking to lift a $625 million asset freeze against him, his spokesman said without providing further details of his defense.

Trafigura in February accused Gupta and the companies connected to him of perpetrating a “systematic fraud” with details that have sent shockwaves through the metals industry. The trading house turned to the court after finding that nickel cargoes it had bought from him in fact contained no nickel. Trafigura says it expects to lose nearly $600 million.

Gupta has been promising a “robust response” to Trafigura’s accusations since February but the case widened Friday with Bloomberg reporting on lawsuits from the billionaire Reuben brothers who alleged that the fraud didn’t just involve thousands of tons of missing nickel, but also counterfeit shipping documents.