Bremen Prosecutors Charge Three Over Greensill Bank Collapse Linked to 2019 GFG Refinancing
The Bremen public prosecutor's office has charged three unnamed individuals connected to Greensill Bank with crimes related to bankruptcy and misrepresentation of the bank's finances. These charges are tied to a 2019 €2.2 billion refinancing of GFG Alliance steel plants overseen by Sanjeev Gupta.
Prosecutors allege that the refinancing circumvented banking regulations and contributed to Greensill Bank's collapse in 2021. Two of those charged were former members of the bank's management board, while the third was a member of the supervisory board. Lex Greensill, the bank's founder, is not among the accused.
Authorities claim there was a deliberate misrepresentation of the loan business in the 2019 accounting records and financial statements, portraying it as a low-risk, regulatory-compliant receivables purchase programme.
Greensill Bank, founded by Lex Greensill and based in Bremen, collapsed amid concerns related to its loans to GFG companies. Meanwhile, the UK Serious Fraud Office continues investigations into suspected fraud and money laundering involving GFG companies and Greensill Capital UK.
Notably, GFG companies are not part of the German investigation or legal proceedings. Gupta's business holdings have faced significant losses and restructurings across France, Australia, and the UK. In the UK, Speciality Steel UK was placed into administration in August, with the government stepping in to run several steelworks in South Yorkshire. A GFG spokesperson declined to comment on these developments.
