Billionaire steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal is suing rival Sanjeev Gupta’s business in the High Court as he attempts to claw back €140m (£117m) as part of a long-running dispute.
ArcelorMittal, which is owned by Mr Mittal, earlier this week launched a fresh legal claim against one of Mr Gupta’s steel companies in a bid to force it into administration.
The dispute marks an escalation in the battle between the two steel tycoons, who have fallen out over a deal gone wrong.
ArcelorMittal, the second-largest steel producer in the world, has been pursuing Mr Gupta’s business empire for €140m in “deferred compensation”. The dispute stems from the sale of a raft of European factories to Mr Gupta’s GFG Alliance five years ago, including sites in Romania and the Czech Republic.
Mr Mittal’s company has already secured a freezing injunction in Singapore against Mr Gupta’s web of companies and is now ramping up legal efforts in London.
Lawyers for Mr Mittal, who is Britain’s eighth-richest man with an estimated worth of $20bn (£15.3bn) and was once dubbed the “king of steel”, have previously signalled their intent to launch a “multi-jurisdictional enforcement process” against Mr Gupta’s .
There are no documents currently available for the latest administration claim against Liberty Steel East Europe, which is part of the GFG Alliance.
However, a spokesman for GFG said: “This is a long-running commercial dispute relating to contested deferred consideration from 2019 which GFG is challenging through legal means.
“The dispute refers to claims arising from a sales and purchase agreement which is itself being litigated in confidential arbitration.
“This legal process, which continues to be challenged, is at a holding company level and has no effect on any of our operations or production.”
James Keates, a restructuring partner at City law firm Shoosmiths, said the High Court case could be a “high-stakes tactic” aimed at forcing Mr Gupta’s companies to pay the alleged debts.
ArcelorMittal’s High Court claim represents the latest legal headache for Mr Gupta, who has been battling to restore his steel empire ever since it was plunged into crisis following the collapse of Greensill in 2021, formerly its largest lender.
His network of Liberty Steel companies, known as the GFG Alliance, have since been struggling to repay debts to various parties across the globe, including HMRC.
GFG also remains subject to an ongoing probe by the Serious Fraud Office, which 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”. A GFG spokesman said: “GFG has consistently denied any wrongdoing.”
Tensions between Mr Gupta and Mr Mittal, formerly a key Tory donor, are also apparent in separate allegations of anti-competitive behaviour.
It is claimed by sources close to GFG that it has been unable to maintain the steel plants it bought from ArcelorMittal in 2019 owing to the latter’s alleged market dominance in Europe.
ArcelorMittal declined to comment.