Trafigura Granted Permission to Subpoena U.S. Banks in $600 Million Fraud Case
A New York judge has authorized Trafigura to subpoena records from major banks to trace the whereabouts of funds linked to a $600 million fraud the company alleges was orchestrated by metals trader Prateek Gupta.
Trafigura filed a request in New York last month seeking access to bank records related to transfers made by companies and individuals connected to Gupta. The commodity trading firm accuses Gupta of selling it nickel cargoes that turned out to be containers filled with worthless material.
In 2023, Trafigura initiated legal proceedings against Gupta and several associated companies in England. Gupta and the companies deny the allegations, claiming that Trafigura either devised the scheme or was aware of it.
In its New York filing, Trafigura argued that the defendants in the English case have failed to provide adequate disclosure, preventing the company from determining the current holders of the funds paid for the fraudulent nickel shipments. This prompted Trafigura to seek discovery directly from U.S. banks.
“Trafigura seeks discovery from U.S. banks that would show where Mr. Gupta and the [nickel] sellers transferred the purchase proceeds they received in exchange for the fraudulent shipments,” said Humpreet Grigoriadis, a London-based lawyer representing Trafigura. The filing added that information from the banks could help Trafigura independently trace its payments related to the disputed trades.
On January 31, Judge Paul Oetken granted Trafigura’s request, allowing subpoenas to be served to banks including Bank of China, Barclays, JP Morgan, Standard Chartered, and UBS. The banks are not parties to the case, and the subpoenas were issued without a hearing.
Trafigura is seeking records concerning payments made and received by companies such as TMT Metals group, UIL (Singapore) Pte Ltd, and Vadox Corp, as well as individuals like Ginni Gupta, Prateek Gupta’s wife. A London court issued a worldwide freezing order against the couple in 2023, preventing them from disposing of assets up to $625 million.
“The named defendants may have used those related parties to transfer the purchase proceeds that are the target of Trafigura’s proprietary claims,” the company stated in its filing.
Trafigura also noted that “funding constraints” have hindered the defendants’ ability to comply with disclosure requirements in the English case, although some additional funding may have been received since December 2023.
Trafigura declined to comment on the latest developments. Prateek Gupta did not respond to requests for comment.
