GFG Alliance: Fraud investigation now looms
Brian Taylor, 17 May 2021
An investigation being undertaken by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) of the government of the United Kingdom may shed light on to what extent metals producer the GFG Alliance has been affected by the former Greensill Capital, or to what extent the two firms worked in tandem to create financial irregularities.
According to online reports from The Guardian and other U.K.-based media, the announcement by the SFO that it was looking into GFG “immediately caused the collapse of a rescue deal for Liberty Steel and raised fears over thousands of British jobs.”
That potential rescue involving a San Francisco-based investment firm may not have proceeded all that far, as it was announced in late April with a timeframe involving several weeks of due diligence ahead. The Guardian quotes the San Francisco firm, White Oak Global Advisers, as stating, “As with any regulated financial institution, we are not in a position to continue discussions with any company that is under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office for money laundering.”
On its website, the SFO says it is “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 Ltd.”
