Pramod Mittal, who is known for being the UK's biggest bankrupt, is now accused of secretly diverting around $82.64 million (£63 million) to his family rather than paying his company's debts, The Times reported on Friday. He is the younger brother of Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal. 

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He filed for bankruptcy in a London court in June 2020 after his financial troubles stemmed from massive debts, including around $169 million owed to creditors. Seven years before, in 2013, Pramod grabbed attention globally when he hosted a lavish wedding ceremony for his daughter. At that time, it was considered to be the world's most expensive wedding, costing around $65.50. 

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In London, Mittal lives in a palatial home in Mayfair, central London. But he claims to have debts of £2.7 billion. Now, the 68-year-old Mittal, his wife and his children are being sued at the High Court in London by one of his former companies, which claims it is owed $216 million. 

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The report mentioned that Global Steel Holdings, which is based in the Isle of Man, was given permission on Thursday to add Mittal to an existing legal claim for "fraudulent and schematic asset stripping". 

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As per the report, the court was told the company and its subsidiary shared a $496 million settlement from the ­Nigerian government between September 2022 and February 2023. 

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It's been claimed in a report that as per Global Steel, Mittal and his family "siphoned away" $180 million it is due from the subsidiary. At least $81 million was claimed to be transferred to Mittal's wife Sangeeta and their adult children Vartika (40), Shristi (37) and Divyesh (35). 

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As quoted by The Times, Global Steel says that the family members "will reside in London and have all held positions or directorships in companies which form part of the Mittal corporate structure at various points in time". 

Graeme Halkerston, who is the counsel for the company's liquidators, reportedly told the court that Mittal appeared to have inserted "yes men" and women into the corporate structure. 

Halkerston said, "Vartika and Divyesh were two such individuals." 

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According to Halkerston's claims, Mittal and his family had a "history of obstruction" and had been "willing to rely upon fabricated evidence to divert assets away from company creditors". 

Halkerston further mentioned that Mittal's father gave $200 million to help pay a debt to an Indian government trading company, which is reported to have led to the dropping of a criminal case.

(With inputs from agencies)