A Jefferies-managed fund, Point Bonita, has nearly $500mn exposure to iron ore trader Radiant World and affiliated entity Sapphire Minmetals, according to a London High Court freezing order obtained last week. The order targets Radiant founder Pinkesh Nahar, Sapphire chair Rakesh Sethi, and both companies for up to $499mn. This marks a second major alleged invoice fraud for Point Bonita, which previously disclosed $715mn exposure to collapsed auto parts firm First Brands Group.

Radiant, once a little-known firm that grew into one of the world's largest iron ore traders, faces lender scrutiny over alleged documentation inconsistencies. Nahar and Sethi deny wrongdoing, though Hong Kong records show Radiant held a majority stake in Sapphire until 2015. The fund's exposure to Radiant grew from $35mn in 2021 to hundreds of millions, but redemption pressures after First Brands' collapse led Point Bonita to halt facility rollovers, creating liquidity issues.

A forbearance agreement was signed in April. Jefferies faces two lawsuits over First Brands exposure and denies all fraud allegations. Jefferies, Radiant, Sapphire, Nahar, and Sethi declined to comment.