A fund run by a unit of US bank Jefferies has nearly US$500 million of exposure to iron ore trader Radiant World, its founder and another entity, the Financial Times reported on Sept 5.
LAM Trade Finance Group II, a fund run by a Jefferies unit and in which Jefferies holds a minority stake, secured a freezing order from a court in London against Radiant World, its founder Pinkesh Nahar and Sapphire Minmetals, which used to be part of Radiant World, Reuters reported on Sept 2, citing a person with knowledge of the matter.
The FT said the freezing order was for up to US$499 million, citing people familiar with the matter, putting the fund’s exposure significantly higher than previously reported.
Reuters has previously reported that Jefferies had trade-finance-related exposure of about US$300 million to Radiant World through its Point Bonita fund.
Point Bonita drew attention last year after Jefferies disclosed it had hundreds of millions of dollars of exposure to bankrupt auto-parts maker First Brands Group.
Jefferies and Radiant World did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment. Jefferies declined to comment to the FT.
Radiant World has come under scrutiny due to concerns that invoices provided to its banks may not have been valid.
The company has strongly denied the allegations, which have prompted some counterparties and lenders to halt or restrict business with it. REUTERS
