By Eric Onstad
LONDON (Reuters) -Lawyers representing Indian businessman Prateek Gupta said they failed to appear for a hearing on Monday because of funding difficulties in a long-running fraud case brought by commodity trader Trafigura about nickel cargoes, a London court heard.
Geneva-based Trafigura, a major industrial metals and oil trader, filed a lawsuit against Gupta in February 2023, alleging it had been the victim of a $600-million fraud involving nickel cargoes masterminded by Gupta and in which he and his companies participated.
Gupta has said in his defence that Trafigura staff devised the scheme at the centre of the case to substitute low-value materials such as scrap for high-grade nickel.
Trafigura and its employees have denied any knowledge of fraud.
Gupta’s lawyers Preston Turnbull informed Trafigura and the court on Friday that due to a lack of funding they would not be attending Monday’s hearing regarding the use of documents in a separate arbitration case.
“That is an excuse which has been routinely trotted out by the Gupta defendants throughout these proceedings when it had suited them to do so, and it is without any merit,” Trafigura lawyer Edward Ho told Monday’s hearing.
Preston Turnbull did not respond to a request for comment.
In March 2024, lawyers for Gupta told a court he had run out of funds to pay legal fees, and in June last year Gupta changed lawyers to Preston Turnbull from Mishcon De Reya.
“The court has previously found, and I agree, that there are sources of funding available to the Gupta defendants,” Ho added.
“Alleged funding issues have been a recurring theme… to justify their failure to meet court deadlines and to comply with court orders.”
Judges have granted a succession of delays over many months to Gupta to meet deadlines for disclosure of documents relevant to the case, which is due to go to trial in November.
Judge Robin Knowles on Monday granted Trafigura’s request to use nine documents disclosed by Gupta in the current fraud case in a separate arbitration case due to be heard next month.
The arbitration case involves Trafigura and Hong-Kong based Axiom Ltd because Trafigura sold one of the cargoes provided by Gupta to Axiom, which was found not to contain nickel, the court heard.
(Additional reporting by Sam Tobin; Editing by Jan Harvey)
