Rice trader Moni Varma sues Lakshmi Mittal

Economic Times (India)

24 June 2011

Rice trader Moni Varma sues Lakshmi Mittal

LONDON: Leading NRI steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal is being sued for allegedly reneging on a multi-million dollar agreement to pay fees to a former friend for helping secure an oil deal with a former Nigerian president, the Guardian reported today.

According to the report, Mittal has received a high court writ from the businessman Moni Varma .

Varma claimed to have facilitated a deal in 2006 for Mittal to gain access to two unexplored oil fields in the Niger Delta after arranging a meeting with Olusegun Obasanjo, the then Nigeria's president, the report said.

Mittal has dismissed the claim, saying the case will be defended vigorously, the report added.