Global Steel: Handling high-stakes and contentious insolvency

Our Firm continues to support the liquidators of Global Steel Holdings Limited (GSHL) on long-running and landmark litigation involving claims worth hundreds of millions of dollars against its former management and related companies, including actions for unfair prejudice, fraud, and breach of duty. The case has drawn significant attention.

The case centres on the complex international insolvency of GSHL and the pursuit of substantial recoveries – valued at over US$180 million – against owner Pramod Mittal, his family and related parties. Mr Mittal, once a prominent steel magnate, was adjudged bankrupt in 2020 with debts of about £140 million.

Our Firm was first instructed on the case in 2019 due to a connection between our Dispute Resolution, Corporate Restructuring & Insolvency Partner Roger Elford and Mark Wilson, a former liquidator of GSHL at RSM UK. At that time, Mark and his team were seeking for the Isle of Man liquidation to be recognised in England and Wales, so that they could use a court order to forcibly obtain documents and other information from uncooperative parties.

Throughout the case our Firm has worked closely with the liquidators and have drawn on expertise from our international network, successfully applying for injunctive relief across multiple jurisdictions.

In April 2025, our team achieved a significant victory in the High Court, securing its leave under Section 285 of the Insolvency Act 1986 to pursue claims against Mr Mittal.
Section 285 is designed to protect the bankrupt’s estate for the benefit of all creditors and requires the court’s leave for any action to proceed against a bankrupt individual. It was a highly contested application.

This meant the team needed to apply complex, lateral thinking to plan four or five steps ahead to get the outcomes that the client wanted. Our team had close involvement with different service lines across the Firm and the client to anticipate and play out different scenarios. Due to the complexity of GSHL’s estate, the case has brought together multidisciplinary teams across our Tax Disputes, International Arbitration and Banking teams as well as multiple offices including London, Dubai and Switzerland.

Our Firm has also partnered with foreign counsel and developed close relationships with third-party lawyers in multiple jurisdictions, including London, Nigeria, Bosnia, the BVI and Singapore, in which the case has been operating.

The team’s role is to manage the global strategy – to ensure clear communication and that everything marries up. The more complex a cross-border case, the more our clients need lawyers delivering high level project management skills.

With our support, GSHL’s estate has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars which are being channelled to its creditors, and efforts to recover more funds are ongoing.

“Navigating coordinated proceedings across multiple jurisdictions is never straightforward, but our teams worked seamlessly to overcome these challenges.”

Roger Elford, Partner