Trafigura Seeks Court Approval to Subpoena Wall Street Banks in Nickel Fraud Case
Trafigura Group is seeking court approval to subpoena major Wall Street banks for information that could help the commodity trading giant trace over half a billion dollars lost in an alleged nickel fraud.
The company is still pursuing the funds nearly two years after it was revealed that nearly $600 million worth of nickel, stored in containers, was actually low-value carbon steel. Trafigura is suing businessman Prateek Gupta and his affiliated companies in London for the funds.
On Monday, Trafigura filed a request in a New York court to subpoena 15 financial institutions, which it believes may have processed transfers related to the missing funds.
Despite a worldwide freezing order on Gupta’s assets, the company claims it has been unable to locate the funds.
“Despite a worldwide freezing order and multiple disclosure orders, the English defendants have refused to provide the information Trafigura needs to determine the whereabouts of all the funds it paid,” the filing stated.
Trafigura is seeking information from the US or New York branches of Bank of America, Bank of China, Bank of New York Mellon, Barclays, BNP Paribas, Citibank, Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, JPMorgan Chase, Société Générale, Standard Chartered, UBS, Wells Fargo, and The Clearing House Payments Company LLC.
In a separate court case in London, Gupta has denied the charges against him. He has also faced financial struggles, with his British metals trading firm, TMT Metals Holdings, being wound up by a creditor in 2023.
Representatives for Trafigura and Gupta declined to comment. Several banks, including Citi, JPMorgan, Bank of New York Mellon, BNP Paribas, and Deutsche Bank, also declined to comment, while others did not respond to inquiries.
