Pramod Mittal, the brother of Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, has gone bankrupt.

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According to a report by The Times, Mittal was declared as bankrupt by London's Insolvency and Companies Court, and has an estimated debt of more than 130 million pounds.

Mittal's debt woes began 14 years ago when he agreed to become a guarantor for debts of a Bosnian coke producer named Global Ispat Koksna Industrija Lukavac (GIKIL). The company failed to repay $166 million.

Mittal claimed that he owes about 170 million pounds to his father, about 1.1 million to his wife Sangeeta, 2.4 million pounds to his son Divyesh and about 1.1 million pounds to his brother-in-law.

The businessman's assets are valued at 110,000 pounds. Furthermore, Mittal claimed to have "no personal income" and a measly 45 pounds (or Rs 4,300) worth of property near Delhi.

Reports said Mittal has offered to pay back 0.18 of a penny for every pound he owes.

In a statement, Mittal said, "I have no personal income. My wife is financially independent from me. We have separate bank accounts and I have very limited information regarding her income. My personal expenditure of approximately 2,000 pounds to 3,000 pounds per month is mainly met by my wife and family. The legal costs of my bankruptcy are being met by another third party."

The UK-based businessman made news when he married off his daughter in 2013, when he spent 50 million pounds, or about Rs 505 crore.

Mittal has found himself in trouble with the law before: he was arrested in Bosnia last year with two of his company officials in an alleged case of fraud. In India he is facing a money-laundering investigation for suspected fraud of Rs 2,200 crore with the State Trading Corporation (STC).

First Published:Oct 22, 2020 3:27 PM IST