LONDON (Reuters) - The UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has closed a five-year criminal investigation into Speciality Steels, a company owned by Indian-British steel magnate Sanjeev Gupta's GFG Alliance, without bringing any charges.
The agency said the investigation had not met its test of both providing sufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction and being in the public interest - and that all those connected with the inquiry had been informed.
"There is a high bar for the SFO to charge individuals or companies with a criminal offence and we will close cases where it is not in the public interest for us to continue with our investigation," a SFO representative said on Thursday.
The investigation is separate from the SFO's fraud, fraudulent trading and money laundering inquiry into the financing and conduct of companies within the Gupta Family Group Alliance (GFG) - including its financing arrangements with Greensill Capital - which was launched in May.
The investigation into Speciality Steels dated back to when it was owned by Tata Steel UK Ltd.