A table presented as part of a lawsuit by a Jefferies Financial Group Inc. fund against Radiant World in London has revealed that the iron ore trading company, along with its affiliate Sapphire Minmetals, owes approximately $870 million to six lenders. This disclosure emerged from court filings for a hearing to continue a worldwide freezing order against Radiant World. The total exposure across these lenders is notably higher than the $526.4 million that Jefferies was actively pursuing from Glencore Plc for overdue payments related to Radiant World and Sapphire Minmetals.
Jefferies is identified as Radiant World's largest single bank creditor, holding a significant portion of this debt. However, the direct exposure of Jefferies itself is limited to a 5.9% stake in the Point Bonita fund, LAM Trade Finance Group II LLC, which financed billions of dollars of receivables for Radiant World and Sapphire Minmetals. This structure mitigates the direct impact on Jefferies, despite the substantial overall exposure of the fund.
The revelations come as Jefferies' Point Bonita unit is facing its second major alleged fraud, following the collapse of First Brands Group in 2025. The fund had financed $3.8 billion in Glencore invoices alone for Radiant World and Sapphire Minmetals since 2021, and also financed invoices purportedly for trades with Vitol. The situation escalated when payments became overdue early this year, leading Glencore and Vitol to deny the authenticity of the invoices, which Jefferies had purchased. A lawyer for Jefferies stated in a London court that Radiant World was involved in a "very large scale fraud," while Radiant World denies wrongdoing, claiming a commercial dispute with Glencore.
Radiant World has recently informed lawyers for the Jefferies fund that it possesses significantly less cash and inventory than its most recent annual accounts indicated. This has further intensified the legal proceedings, with the Jefferies fund seeking to maintain the $499 million worldwide freezing order. Glencore, which had ceased new business with Radiant World amid concerns over falsified invoices, publicly accused Radiant World of fraud in September, along with Jefferies. Sapphire Minmetals has also denied falsifying invoices and has joined Radiant World in a $2 billion Singapore lawsuit against Glencore.
