{"id":4928,"date":"2018-01-19T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-01-19T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/amabhungane.org\/amabhungane\/stories\/the-guptas-used-what-looks-like-an-international-money-laundering-network-to-move-their-wealth\/"},"modified":"2024-09-22T14:18:22","modified_gmt":"2024-09-22T14:18:22","slug":"guptaleaks-liverpool-company-owns-49-of-indian-firm-implicated-in-kickback-scheme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/guptaleaks-liverpool-company-owns-49-of-indian-firm-implicated-in-kickback-scheme\/","title":{"rendered":"#GuptaLeaks: Liverpool company owns 49% of Indian firm implicated in kickback scheme"},"content":{"rendered":"

Britain\u2019s biggest metal recycling firm holds a 49% stake in Indian firm Worlds Window, which moved hundreds of millions in kickbacks around the world for the Guptas.<\/p>\n

The money flows are exposed in a new<\/a> amaBhungane and Scorpio investigation, based in large part on the #GuptaLeaks.<\/p>\n

Investigative journalism takes time and money. Help us do more. Be an amaB Supporter<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The British firm, European Metal Recycling (EMR), is a Liverpool-based business. It says its \u201cheritage\u201d reaches back to the 1940s. It turns over more than \u00a32-billion a year, and is largely owned and run by one family, the Sheppards.<\/p>\n

EMR bought 49% of Worlds Window Impex India (the parent company) in 2008. EMR\u2019s audited financials state that it \u201cexercises significant influence over the operating and financial policies of\u201d Worlds Window.<\/p>\n

EMR has regularly injected capital into Worlds Window, EMR\u2019s financials and other records show.<\/p>\n

There is no evidence that EMR knowingly contributed to Worlds Window\u2019s suspicious financial activity.<\/p>\n

Between 2010 and 2015, Worlds Window directors and staff involved themselves in private bids for multibillion-rand crane and locomotive tenders at state-owned logistics company Transnet.<\/p>\n

The Worlds Window directors and staff then worked with offshore shell companies, which received \u201cagent fees\u201d \u2013 structured like kickbacks \u2013 and helped to disperse the money around the world, including to businesses associated with the Gupta family in South Africa and abroad.<\/p>\n

Together, the Guptas and Worlds Window also moved more millions in many suspicious transactions, according to our investigation. These transactions bore multiple hallmarks of money laundering, although the source of the money was not always known.<\/p>\n

The Guptas are friends with president Jacob Zuma and kept Zuma\u2019s son on their payroll. They have been accused of grand corruption here.<\/p>\n

This week, the Asset Forfeiture Unit moved <\/a>to seize R1.6-billion in assets linked to the Guptas and firms they did business with. It said it hoped to seize at least R50-billion in 17 related cases under investigation.<\/p>\n

EMR responded to our initial questions. It said that before 2008, it had \u201ca pretty long established trading relationship with Worlds Window who effectively acted as a sales agent into India\u201d.<\/p>\n

It said: \u201cEMR is disturbed to hear press reports of the alleged involvement of Worlds Windows in money laundering, which we became aware of late last year through #GuptaLeaks. We are currently carefully looking at this investment as a consequence.\u201d<\/p>\n

We had asked EMR if it also had a business relationship with a number of offshore companies central to the laundering of Transnet kickbacks. These included JJ Trading, Century General Trading and IMR General Trading, all registered in UAE financial havens.<\/p>\n

EMR\u2019s response was confusing. It said: \u201cEMR has no involvement with any of the companies mentioned, however a few companies have been counterparties in the legitimate trade of scrap metal.\u201d<\/p>\n

We asked it to explain, name its trading partners and provide evidence of legitimate business. It did not.<\/p>\n

EMR spokeswoman Olivia Healey sent us a general response, referring to a statement in EMR\u2019s audited financials in which it classifies Worlds Window companies as \u201cassociate undertakings\u201d because EMR \u201cexercises significant influence over the operating and financial policies of the company\u201d.<\/p>\n

She said this statement \u201cmisrepresents the reality of this situation\u201d.<\/p>\n

She continued: \u201cWhen consolidating our accounts, we work on standard assumptions as follows: \u2018An associate is an entity in which the group has significant influence, but not control, over the operating and financial policies of the entity. Significant influence is presumed to exist when the investor holds between 20% and 50% of the equity voting rights.\u2019<\/p>\n

The important word in here is presumed. So, for the purpose of accounting, Worlds Windows is presumed to fall into this category as we have a significant minority interest.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reality of the situation is that [EMR] had no board representation and exercised no management control over the business. This financial investment was effectively managed by a post audit financial review which had not raised any red flags to date.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo unfortunately we are simply unable to assist you any further with your enquiries.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among our questions, we had asked EMR whether it knew about or had influence over Worlds Window\u2019s business relationship with the Guptas, the apparent laundering of kickbacks via JJ and Century General and whether it condoned other suspicious money flows, outlined in our investigation<\/a>.<\/p>\n