Romania Launches Probe into Liberty Steel's Alleged Embezzlement and Tax Evasion Schemes
A probe has been launched in Romania against Sanjeev Gupta's Liberty Steel, a metals tycoon with a reputation for saving struggling steelworks. The company is facing allegations of embezzlement and tax evasion, the latest blow to Gupta's empire which has been unraveling since the collapse of lender Greensill Capital in 2021.
Prosecutors in Romania claim that seven homes, including Liberty Steel's registered office, were raided as part of an investigation into "unfounded allegations" directed at the company. However, sources suggest that the raids may be related to serious accusations of financial malfeasance.
According to investigators, persons with management positions within the Romanian operation of Liberty Steel allegedly embezzled funds through affiliated entities registered in other jurisdictions. They also claimed that a series of contracts for the purchase of goods or services were fictitious and not based on real operations, while fictitious loan contracts were used to divert funds intended for industrial investments.
One specific transaction under investigation involved the sale of CO2 certificates worth €137m (£121m) to Gazprom, the Russian state-owned gas company. The money from these sales was transferred to the accounts of Liberty Steel's parent company via a company in Singapore. However, after allegations surfaced, Gazprom replaced the certificates for €154m, leaving it with a significant loss.
Gupta and his organization have denied any wrongdoing, calling the allegations "unfounded". They claimed that Galați, the Romanian operation of Liberty Steel, had received substantial financial support from their group, which was vetted by independent external lawyers to ensure compliance with applicable laws. However, the company's response has been met with skepticism by investigators and critics.
The probe marks another significant development in Gupta's ongoing struggles, following the loss of his key British operation. The UK's Serious Fraud Office has been investigating GFG and Greensill since 2021, while administrators of Greensill Capital have declined to comment on the allegations.
The investigation highlights the risks facing Gupta's empire as he navigates a complex web of regulatory issues, sanctions, and financial scrutiny in multiple jurisdictions.
A probe has been launched in Romania against Sanjeev Gupta's Liberty Steel, a metals tycoon with a reputation for saving struggling steelworks. The company is facing allegations of embezzlement and tax evasion, the latest blow to Gupta's empire which has been unraveling since the collapse of lender Greensill Capital in 2021.
Prosecutors in Romania claim that seven homes, including Liberty Steel's registered office, were raided as part of an investigation into "unfounded allegations" directed at the company. However, sources suggest that the raids may be related to serious accusations of financial malfeasance.
According to investigators, persons with management positions within the Romanian operation of Liberty Steel allegedly embezzled funds through affiliated entities registered in other jurisdictions. They also claimed that a series of contracts for the purchase of goods or services were fictitious and not based on real operations, while fictitious loan contracts were used to divert funds intended for industrial investments.
One specific transaction under investigation involved the sale of CO2 certificates worth €137m (£121m) to Gazprom, the Russian state-owned gas company. The money from these sales was transferred to the accounts of Liberty Steel's parent company via a company in Singapore. However, after allegations surfaced, Gazprom replaced the certificates for €154m, leaving it with a significant loss.
Gupta and his organization have denied any wrongdoing, calling the allegations "unfounded". They claimed that Galați, the Romanian operation of Liberty Steel, had received substantial financial support from their group, which was vetted by independent external lawyers to ensure compliance with applicable laws. However, the company's response has been met with skepticism by investigators and critics.
The probe marks another significant development in Gupta's ongoing struggles, following the loss of his key British operation. The UK's Serious Fraud Office has been investigating GFG and Greensill since 2021, while administrators of Greensill Capital have declined to comment on the allegations.
The investigation highlights the risks facing Gupta's empire as he navigates a complex web of regulatory issues, sanctions, and financial scrutiny in multiple jurisdictions.
Liberty Steel is like a whole thing right now... They're saying someone embezzled funds but they think it's unfounded... Like, seven homes got raided including their office 
The CO2 certificates thing sounds sus too... €137m to Gazprom and then Gazprom just took the loss 
It's all very shady... Gupta's team says they're innocent but I don't know if that's really gonna fly with the investigators 
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. But I guess when you're dealing with billionaires and big corporations, things can get pretty murky 
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I'm like totally obsessed w/ this Liberty Steel scandal 
Not on my watch! 
So they're saying these 7 homes were raided, including the office 
like what even is going on?! So they're saying these people at Liberty Steel were embezzling funds through their own companies registered elsewhere 
and then Gazprom had to buy back those certificates because Liberty Steel messed up 
anyone else heard about this?
how can a company just sell co2 certificates for 137m euros and then get ripped off by the buyer? sounds like some serious financial gymnastics to me... Gupta's team is denying everything but its hard to believe they're telling the truth when there are so many questions still unanswered 
. This Liberty Steel probe just seems like another attempt to take down Sanjeev Gupta's empire. I mean, seven homes raided? That's a pretty big deal. And it's all about "unfounded allegations" – sounds like a classic cover-up to me 
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I'm shocked by this news! It seems like Liberty Steel's founder Sanjeev Gupta is under fire for all over again 
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. Hopefully, he'll get some help from his lawyers and advisors to sort out these issues once and for all 
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. It'll be interesting to see how it all plays out in the end 
. Still, I do think it's good that someone's keeping an eye on him 
. Maybe this is just another speed bump in his journey... we'll see how it all plays out!
and now he's facing a whole lot of heat.
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prosecutors seem to have a good case here and if they find out he's been cooking the books on a massive scale, his empire is toast 
. I'm not buying the "unfounded allegations" excuse either - it's gotta be investigated further 
. And if Gupta's saying it's all unfounded, I'd be like "yeah right" 
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I'm just thinking... what's going on here? Liberty Steel is like a big steel company right? And they're being investigated for stealing money and doing shady stuff with tax evasion? 
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. And the fact that his organization is trying to claim that all these financial transactions were legit and just "vetered by independent external lawyers" 
. The fact that Gazprom ended up losing out on €17m because of his company's shenanigans? That's just the cherry on top of this whole mess 
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. And what's up with Gazprom getting scammed out of €154m? That's not okay at all