Steel tycoon Gupta seeks to review trading ties to Russian gas giant Gazprom
The Marble Power arm of Sanjeev Gupta鈥檚 GFG Alliance conglomerate is reviewing its commercial relationship with the Russian gas giant, Sky News understands.
Thursday 3 March 2022 18:15, UK
The metals empire headed by Sanjeev Gupta is reviewing its commercial ties to Gazprom 鈥� the latest in a string of big industrial groups to potentially seek to end relationships with the Russian gas giant.
Sky News has learnt that Marble Power, a division of the Gupta family's GFG Alliance conglomerate, is considering whether to terminate contracts with Gazprom in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The precise scale and details of GFG Alliance's dealings with Gazprom were unclear on Thursday, although one source said they were focused on the Marble Power division.
A number of British companies, including British Land, the landlord to Gazprom's global trading arm in London, and Centrica, which has a gas supply contract with the Russian group, have said in recent days that they want to end the arrangements.
Several local authorities have also declared that they want to find alternative sources of supply as Russia's global financial, political and cultural isolation continues to deepen.
It was unclear whether Mr Gupta was already lining up new counterparties to replace its relationship with Gazprom.
The move comes at an awkward time for the steel tycoon, who is facing an attempt by the British tax authorities to wind up parts of his group over unpaid liabilities.
Sky News revealed last month that a winding-up petition is due to be heard in the coming weeks, a move that could place thousands of jobs at risk.
Some observers expect GFG and HM Revenue & Customs to reach a settlement before the matter is heard in court.
A GFG Alliance spokesman declined to comment.