An energy tycoon in talks to buy 5pc of Britain’s North Sea gas production is facing new claims of fraud, The Telegraph can reveal.
Francesco Mazzagatti has been accused of stealing £23.5m from his former employer to help fund a deal for a London-listed energy producer, according to recently submitted court documents.
It is claimed that the oil trader extracted funds from Alliance Petrochemical Investment (API), a Singaporean trading company he previously worked for, to purchase RockRose Energy in 2020.
The acquisition established Mr Mazzagatti as a key player in the UK energy market. He is now racing to expand his empire by acquiring 11 North Sea gas fields owned by Shell and ExxonMobil for £403m.
Shell hopes to complete the deal by the end of this year, although it is still awaiting sign-off from the UK Government.
The planned acquisition would hand Mr Mazzagatti control of 5pc of Britain’s total gas production, making him critical to the country’s long-term energy security.
However, the transaction has been overshadowed by claims made against Mr Mazzagatti of fraud and theft.
API is already fighting a High Court battle against Mr Mazzagatti in the UK and has launched separate proceedings in Singapore. Recently submitted court documents in the Singaporean case claim to show how Mr Mazzagatti syphoned funds to himself, allegations he denies.
Ngoo Sin Hung Justin, an API director, has sworn an affidavit accusing Mr Mazzagatti of stealing at least £23.5m from API and its subsidiary APT.
He is alleged to have done so via Petrochemical Industries Ltd (PIL), a company he controlled.
In his affidavit, Mr Ngoo Justin alleges Mr Mazzagatti controlled APT’s finances for his own benefit and made unexplained transactions to third-party entities.
He said: “Mazzagatti has deliberately withheld documents pertaining to APT, including the bank statements of all bank accounts held in its name, so as to conceal his misappropriation of funds from APT.”
As part of its lawsuit, API claims to have obtained Mr Mazzagatti’s bank statements.
“Mazzagatti’s bank statements show that considerable sums were transferred from the accounts of API and APT to Petrochemical Industries and subsequently to Mazzagatti,” court papers said.
“The evidence of Mazzagatti’s bank statements is damning and clearly shows direct misappropriation of funds from API by Mazzagatti through PIL.”
Copies of Mr Mazzagatti’s bank statements were included in the court filings in Singapore, allegedly showing the flow of funds from API to Mr Mazzagatti and onwards to other entities. The alleged transactions are set out in a range of currencies, underlining the global nature of the claimed fraud.