Trafigura Secures $600 Million Victory in Nickel Fraud Case Against Businessman Gupta
Trafigura has emerged victorious in its London lawsuit against Indian businessman Prateek Gupta regarding fraudulent nickel cargoes. The High Court in London ruled in favor of the commodities trader, marking a significant win for Trafigura.
Based in Geneva, Trafigura accused Gupta of orchestrating a fraudulent “Ponzi scheme.” According to the allegations, Gupta and his companies promised to deliver high-quality nickel, specifically 99.8% pure, but instead provided low-value or even worthless materials.
While Gupta admitted to not delivering the promised high-grade nickel cargoes, he contended that the scheme was devised by Trafigura staff. This claim was refuted by Sokratis Oikonomou, Trafigura’s former head nickel trader, during his testimony in November.
Read more: Trafigura Lawyers Claim Gupta Had History of Fraud Before Alleged $600M Nickel Scam
Judge Pushpinder Saini determined that Trafigura was misled into entering contracts due to “false and fraudulent representations” made by Gupta and his companies. Furthermore, the judge emphasized that Trafigura’s former employees, including Oikonomou, were “wholly innocent of any wrongdoing.”
A spokesperson for Trafigura stated that the ruling “comprehensively finds in favor of Trafigura and recognizes the systematic fraud perpetrated by Mr. Gupta and the corporate defendants.” The spokesperson also noted, “We are continuing to pursue recovery from Mr. Gupta.”
In a twist, a lawyer who represented Gupta did not respond immediately to requests for comment. Court records indicated that the law firm which represented Gupta during the trial no longer represents him.
‘No Real Defense’
The trial, which wrapped up in December, stemmed from events that began in November 2022 when Trafigura first received complaints regarding the cargoes it had sold. This prompted the company to conduct further inspections, leading to a $590 million charge and a lawsuit against Gupta and his companies in February 2023 for what Trafigura described as “systematic fraud.”
During the trial, Trafigura argued that Gupta had a history of fraudulent dealings, claiming he siphoned off funds from the alleged scheme to support his struggling businesses. Gupta, who provided evidence remotely from Dubai, asserted that Trafigura had created a complex series of transactions designed to inflate its position in nickel trading. His legal team claimed the scheme involved over 500 trades valued at $3.3 billion.
However, Trafigura’s lawyers dismissed this narrative as an attempt to rationalize the admitted fraud, labeling Gupta’s evidence as “implausible, inconsistent … and plainly incredible.” Judge Saini remarked that “having no real defense to the fraud claim, Mr. Gupta decided to go ‘on the attack’ by inventing the story of the arrangement.”
(Reporting by Sam Tobin; editing by William James, Elaine Hardcastle)
Trafigura has emerged victorious in its London lawsuit against Indian businessman Prateek Gupta regarding fraudulent nickel cargoes. The High Court in London ruled in favor of the commodities trader, marking a significant win for Trafigura.
Based in Geneva, Trafigura accused Gupta of orchestrating a fraudulent “Ponzi scheme.” According to the allegations, Gupta and his companies promised to deliver high-quality nickel, specifically 99.8% pure, but instead provided low-value or even worthless materials.
While Gupta admitted to not delivering the promised high-grade nickel cargoes, he contended that the scheme was devised by Trafigura staff. This claim was refuted by Sokratis Oikonomou, Trafigura’s former head nickel trader, during his testimony in November.
Read more: Trafigura Lawyers Claim Gupta Had History of Fraud Before Alleged $600M Nickel Scam
Judge Pushpinder Saini determined that Trafigura was misled into entering contracts due to “false and fraudulent representations” made by Gupta and his companies. Furthermore, the judge emphasized that Trafigura’s former employees, including Oikonomou, were “wholly innocent of any wrongdoing.”
A spokesperson for Trafigura stated that the ruling “comprehensively finds in favor of Trafigura and recognizes the systematic fraud perpetrated by Mr. Gupta and the corporate defendants.” The spokesperson also noted, “We are continuing to pursue recovery from Mr. Gupta.”
In a twist, a lawyer who represented Gupta did not respond immediately to requests for comment. Court records indicated that the law firm which represented Gupta during the trial no longer represents him.
‘No Real Defense’
The trial, which wrapped up in December, stemmed from events that began in November 2022 when Trafigura first received complaints regarding the cargoes it had sold. This prompted the company to conduct further inspections, leading to a $590 million charge and a lawsuit against Gupta and his companies in February 2023 for what Trafigura described as “systematic fraud.”
During the trial, Trafigura argued that Gupta had a history of fraudulent dealings, claiming he siphoned off funds from the alleged scheme to support his struggling businesses. Gupta, who provided evidence remotely from Dubai, asserted that Trafigura had created a complex series of transactions designed to inflate its position in nickel trading. His legal team claimed the scheme involved over 500 trades valued at $3.3 billion.
However, Trafigura’s lawyers dismissed this narrative as an attempt to rationalize the admitted fraud, labeling Gupta’s evidence as “implausible, inconsistent … and plainly incredible.” Judge Saini remarked that “having no real defense to the fraud claim, Mr. Gupta decided to go ‘on the attack’ by inventing the story of the arrangement.”
(Reporting by Sam Tobin; editing by William James, Elaine Hardcastle)
