Prateek Gupta loses bid to lift freezing order in Trafigura fraud case

Indian businessman Prateek Gupta on Friday failed in his attempt to get a London court to lift a global freezing order on his personal and business assets in a fraud case brought by Trafigura about nickel cargoes.

Trafigura filed a lawsuit against Gupta in February and a London court imposed the freezing order after the Geneva-based commodity trader alleged seven companies owned or linked to Gupta carried out a systematic fraud.

Gupta has said in his defence that Trafigura staff devised the scheme at the centre of the case to substitute low-value metals such as scrap for high-grade nickel. Trafigura has denied any such wrongdoing.


During a two-day London court hearing last week Gupta asked a judge to lift the freezing order, alleging Trafigura did not disclose important information.

"There was no failure to disclose," Justice Robert Bright said in a ruling. "It follows that the application fails."