Serious Fraud Office seizes documents at Gupta-linked firms

theguardian.com:

Investigators from the Serious Fraud Office have seized documents and questioned executives at the British offices of companies owned by the industrialist Sanjeev Gupta, in a sign of deepening legal difficulties for GFG Alliance, his metals and energy group.

The fraud agency attended several addresses in England, Scotland and Wales on Wednesday as part of the investigations, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said.

Locations attended by investigators included Stocksbridge, Hartlepool and Scunthorpe in northern England and Newport in Wales, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.

The SFO did not issue a warning of Wednesday’s operation, relying on powers that allow it to require witnesses to answer questions as well as to produce documents.

It is understood that the companies complied with requests for information, and that the investigators did not force entry into any premises.

The SFO revealed its investigation in May 2021, shortly after the collapse of GFG’s main financial backer, Greensill Capital, prompted intense scrutiny on the company. The SFO said it was investigating “suspected fraud, fraudulent trading and money laundering in relation to the financing and conduct of the business of companies within the Gupta Family Group Alliance (GFG), including its financing arrangements with Greensill Capital UK”.

Gupta’s main UK assets are a series of steel plants under the Liberty Steel banner, including large operations at Rotherham and Stocksbridge in South Yorkshire and smaller facilities in Wales and the Midlands, as well as an aluminium smelter in Scotland. Gupta is listed as a director of 77 UK companies, although many are ultimately controlled by companies in Singapore.

The SFO’s action follows a raid by French