Greene: SNP Government must finally come clean on Gupta deals

Ahead of SNP ministers making a statement to parliament later today (Thursday 11th September), Scottish Liberal Democrat Jamie Greene MSP has urged them to “come clean” on their government's deals with Sanjeev Gupta’s troubled business empire and taxpayer exposure.  

Scottish Liberal Democrats secured a parliamentary statement from the government on Sanjeev Gupta’s business operations in Scotland.

Mr Gupta acquired the Dalzell Steelworks in a controversial back-to-back deal facilitated by the Scottish Government, exposing taxpayers to environmental clean-up costs in the event of a wider collapse. He also owns the Lochaber aluminium plant, which owes £7 million in loans to Scottish taxpayers and is also backed by hundreds of millions of pounds of Scottish Government guarantees. Years of media reporting have suggested that the accounts for both have gone unfiled.

The Scottish Government have so far refused to say whether it has obtained financial guarantees relating to the financing for the tycoon’s Scottish businesses.

Last month, a judge found that the parent group of Gupta’ GFG Alliance has 15 entities in insolvency proceedings across nine jurisdictions.

Jamie Greene said:

“The SNP Government has never been upfront about its dealings with Sanjeev Gupta.

“Mr Gupta’s business operations in Scotland involve hundreds of Scottish workers and multi-million-pound taxpayer-backed loans. But whenever my party has raised the latest worrying development concerning the GFG Alliance with ministers, they insist everything is rosy.

"Not a single minister has ever been able to explain when the loans are likely to be paid back, whether Mr Gupta’s businesses are in breach of their deals with the government and what this could all mean for Scottish taxpayers.

“As Deputy Convener of the Scottish Parliament’s Public Audit Committee, I am regularly involved in scrutinizing how the government is using public money. That task, however, is made no easier by minister after minister dodging basic questions about their relationship with Mr Gupta.  

“With Gupta’s business empire in the spotlight, it is time for the government to come clean with MSPs and the public about what discussions it has had with the GFG Alliance, whether taxpayers could be left picking up the pieces and, critically for how much.”