Pramod Mittal, 64, one of Britain's wealthiest men who spent £50 million on his daughter's wedding has reportedly been declared bankrupt with debts running to more than £130 million. He is believed to have lost the money after he became tangled up in a probe into organised crime, reports said. Pramod's brother is Lakshmi Mittal, Britain's 19th richest man and is head of Arcelor Mittal, the world's biggest steel manufacturer.
Pramod Mittal became well known after a lavish ceremony held at the wedding of his daughter Shristi with Gulraj Behl at the National Museum of Catalan Art in Barcelona in 2013. The wedding was attended by 500 guests who were served a 132-pound wedding cake.
His brother Lakshmi Mittal is unwilling to bail out his younger brother after the two previously fell out over their father's alloy empire. According to reports, 'they are no longer close and live separate lives. Lakshmi does not see why he should be financially responsible for his brother. This debt has nothing to do with him.'
According to reports, Pramod Mittal's bankruptcy stems from his acting as a guarantor in 2006 for the debts of Global Ispat Koksna Industrija Lukavac (Gikil), a Bosnian producer of coke used in steel manufacturing. Mittal was pursued by London-based Stemcor when he did not pay $166 million which was owed in 2013.
Stemcor went on to separate its non-trading businesses - which included Mittal's guarantee - into a separate company, Moorgate Industries, which was granted the bankruptcy order at the Insolvency and Companies Court. In July last year Mittal was arrested in Bosnia as part of a probe into organised crime at Gikil. He was later released on one million euro bail but the investigation is ongoing.
