A fund connected to Jefferies, LAM Trade Finance Group II LLC, has submitted several applications in London's High Court. Court records show one request is for an injunction that could open the door to full legal proceedings against Radiant World and Sapphire Minmetals Corp. The filings went in last week and appeared on the public docket on Wednesday. There are no publicly available details on the contents of those applications.
In late July, Bloomberg reported that multiple heavyweight commodity traders started distancing themselves from Radiant World over concerns it used falsified paperwork to obtain financing. Some banks have frozen accounts or paused credit lines, and major miners, Chinese buyers, and competing trading houses have stepped back. The London filings are the first to surface in UK courts connected to that aftermath.
Radiant World, which rose to become a major iron ore trader in recent years, is facing inquiries in the US and Singapore, and Mizuho Bank Ltd. has launched separate legal action in Singapore's High Court. Authorities have not alleged misconduct by Radiant World, and inquiries do not automatically lead to charges.
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The pre-action applications also list Pinkesh Nahar, founder of Radiant World, as well as Rakesh Sethi, the majority shareholder and chairman of Sapphire Minmetals. Sapphire was previously part of Radiant World. Attempts to obtain comment from Radiant World were not met with a timely reply.
Similarly, a representative for Jefferies failed to respond quickly to a comment request. Rakesh Sethi did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
If more counterparties pull away, trade flows can slow and financing can get pricier, which often finds its way into commodity prices. Watch for two signals: whether additional firms step back from Radiant World and whether these UK filings turn into a full case. Either could ripple from the warehouse to what you pay for goods tied to raw materials.
