A fund run by Jefferies Financial Group has won a freezing injunction in Singapore against Radiant World and its founder Pinkesh Nahar, according to people familiar with the matter.
The decision at a closed hearing in Singapore on Sept 10 came after the Jefferies fund earlier won a worldwide freezing order against the same defendants in London’s High Court.
Jefferies had asked and received permission from the British court to enforce the worldwide freezing order by applying for domestic freezing injunctions in Singapore and Hong Kong, Bloomberg reported previously.
In the British lawsuit, Jefferies accused the defendants of falsifying iron ore invoices as part of a “fraudulent scheme” against it. It said its claim was worth more than US$500 million (S$632 million).
LAM Trade Finance Group II LLC – a fund run by Jefferies subsidiary Point Bonita – sought the freezing injunction against Radiant World Corporation, Radiant World’s main Singapore operating company; Radiant World Holding, its Hong Kong holding company; Pinkesh Nahar, its founder and majority shareholder; Sapphire Minmetals Corporation, a closely related but legally separate company; and Rakesh Sethi, Sapphire’s chairman and majority owner.
Spokespeople for Jefferies and Radiant World declined to comment. Sethi did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Bloomberg reported in July that several top commodity traders had stopped doing business with Radiant World amid concerns it had provided falsified documents to banks to raise financing.
Radiant World denied wrongdoing and said it conducts its business to the highest commercial and legal standards.
Singapore is a key location for Radiant World, since the group’s main operating unit is a Singapore entity.
Singapore police are investigating the company and last month raided Radiant World’s Singapore office and questioned some of the firm’s employees, Bloomberg has reported.
In a separate case in Singapore, a unit of Japanese lender Mizuho Financial Group is seeking to put Radiant World Corporation under so-called judicial management, a form of debt restructuring in which a third party takes control of a company.
The next hearing in that case is scheduled for Sept 23, the Singapore court website showed on Sept 10.
It also showed Intesa Sanpaolo SpA and Deutsche Bank AG listed as “non-parties” with their own legal representation – the first time the two banks have been listed in any legal action involving Radiant World.
Bloomberg has previously reported that Intesa and Deutsche Bank are among at least five banks that have been told by Radiant World’s counterparties that some of the invoices underpinning their exposure to Radiant World aren’t genuine.
Spokespeople for Intesa and Deutsche Bank declined to comment. BLOOMBERG
