The metals tycoon Sanjeev Gupta has opened a new front in the battle to save his crumbling business empire with a legal claim asserting his ownership of a $3bn Australian steel producer.
Sky News understands that Mr Gupta’s GFG Alliance holding company has filed a claim in the High Court disputing a claim over its shares in InfraBuild which has been made by the administrators to Greensill, the collapsed finance group.
Mr Gupta’s claim, which was filed in the second half of September, escalates his battle to retain ownership of his equity in InfraBuild, which is worth billions of pounds.
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It comes weeks after the tycoon lost control of Speciality Steels UK, part of his Liberty Steel subsidiary.
SSUK, Britain’s third-biggest steel producer, collapsed into compulsory liquidation, with a sale process now being orchestrated by the government.
Some of Mr Gupta’s other assets, including in Europe, are also the subject of ongoing legal disputes.
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A GFG Alliance spokesperson said: “GFG Alliance has initiated legal proceedings in relation to Greensill’s disputed security claim over the shares of its Australian steel business, InfraBuild.
“The disputed security, dating back to 2021, has no legal foundation.
“It was conditional on Greensill securing insurance and advancing substantial new funding – neither of which ever materialised.
“As a result, the security remains unperfected and without consideration.”
He added that GFG was now seeking a “declaration from the UK court to confirm that the security is invalid”.
“While proceedings are ongoing, GFG seeks to negotiate a comprehensive settlement in the interests of all stakeholders.”
UBS Asset Management, one of Greensill’s largest creditors, is also named as a defendant on the claim form.
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Grant Thornton, the accountancy firm which is handling Greensill’s long-running insolvency process, is said to have filed a separate action in Australia to assert its security over the InfraBuild stake.
A spokesperson for the joint administrators of Greensill Capital UK Ltd said: “The joint administrators of Greensill Capital UK Ltd firmly believe the action lacks merit and will be responding appropriately where necessary.”
In August, Sky News revealed that officials from the Australian Securities & Investment Commission (ASIC) had served Mr Gupta’s Liberty Steel group with a new demand for information about its activities.
Sources said the regulator had taken possession of a mobile phone belonging to Mr Gupta as part of its probe.
