UK court declares Lakshmi Mittal’s brother Pramod Mittal bankrupt with debts of over 130 million pounds

Pramod Mittal, the brother of billionaire steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, has been declared bankrupt by the Insolvency and Companies Court in London The 64-year-old has a debt of more than £130 million and he had filed for bankruptcy, reported The Times.

Pramod Mittal is the co-owner of metallurgical coke producer Global Ispat Koksna Industrija Lukavac (GIKIL) in northern Bosnia.

The reason behind his problem is reportedly attributed to his becoming a guarantor in 2006 for the debts of the company. The trouble for Pramod started after British steel trading and distribution company Stemcor pursued him for the £166 million debt owed to them.

File image of Pramod Mittal. Reuters

Stemcor then split up its non-trading businesses into a separate company, Moorgate Industries. The company’s non-trading business included guarantee by Pramod. The court has granted the bankruptcy order to Moorgate Industries.

According to Reuters, the Pramod Mittal and his two colleagues were arrested and later let off in Bosnia in 2019. They were released after paying 1.5 million euros, one million euro for Pramod and 500,000 euros for the two executives. The three were arrested after being suspected of involvement in the organised crime.

According to The Indian Express, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had registered a case against him in 2017 for allegedly causing the State Trading Corporation (STC) loss to the tune of Rs 2,112 crore. At that time, his elder brother Lakshmi Mittal came to his rescue as he helped Pramod pay the loan.

In 2013, Pramod Mittal was in the news after he spent over £50 million on his daughter’s wedding. His brother Lakshmi Mittal heads Arcelor Mittal, the world’s largest steelmaker.