Jefferies-backed fund accuses Radiant World and Sapphire of $900 million fraud

In court filings, a Jefferies-affiliated fund asserted that Radiant World and its affiliate Sapphire Minmetals engaged in large-scale fraud by fabricating receivables-financing documents valued at nearly $900 million. The affidavit, submitted by lawyer Christopher Bushell, expands earlier claims that about $500 million of Radiate’s invoices were fraudulent. The fund, operating as Point Bonita’s LAM Trade Finance Group II LLC, is owed more than $610 million, much of it tied to purported sales to Glencore and Vitol Group, both of which have provided evidence of falsified paperwork.

A London court granted a $499 million freezing order against the assets of Radiant, Sapphire and their majority owners Pinkesh Nahar and Rakesh Sethi. The defendants have denied wrongdoing and have not yet filed a defence. The fund had previously tried to contact the alleged buyers, prompting the traders to demand it stay “on the sidelines.”