Abu Dhabi’s International Resources Holding has hired Harshdeep Bhatia, a former Trafigura Group trader who led the company’s relationship with the man it accuses of perpetrating a massive nickel fraud against it.
Bhatia has joined IRH as head of base metals, according to people familiar with the matter, as the company and its parent conglomerate push ahead with an acquisition spree in metals and mining. He left Trafigura in early 2023 after the trading house revealed it had lost more than $500 million following its purchase of nickel cargoes that didn’t contain the metal.
Trafigura hasn’t accused Bhatia of wrongdoing, and has said it doesn’t believe any of its employees were complicit in the alleged fraud. In legal filings, it described him as the “main trader” working with Prateek Gupta, the man Trafigura accuses of perpetrating the fraud against it, and described “an apparent ‘cosiness’” in their relationship.
Trafigura’s case against Gupta is scheduled for trial in London starting in November. An earlier attempt by Gupta to have a freeze on his assets lifted based on his claim that Trafigura traders were aware that the containers did not have nickel inside them was dismissed by a judge, who concluded he had not presented evidence to demonstrate this.
IRH — a unit of International Holding Co., a vast conglomerate controlled by United Arab Emirates National Security Adviser Sheikh Tahnoon Bin Zayed Al Nahyan — has been one of the most aggressive buyers of assets in the metals and mining industry in recent years. Earlier this month, it agreed to acquire a majority stake in Alphamin Resources Corp., which owns one of the world’s biggest tin mines. It previously acquired Zambia’s Mopani copper complex.
Bhatia didn’t respond to messages and phone calls seeking comment. A spokesperson for IRH declined to comment.
(By Jack Farchy and Julian Luk)
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