The SFO announced its investigation into fraud at Balli Steel in 2014. In 2020, charges were laid against a number of individuals.

On 29 September 2020 the SFO charged four people with various fraud offences in relation to the activities of Balli Group Plc and Balli Steel Plc.

Nasser Alaghband and David Spriddell were each charged with two counts of fraudulent trading in the carrying on of the businesses of Balli Steel Plc and Balli Group Plc with intent to defraud creditors. Nasser Alaghband was charged with a further six counts of conspiracy to defraud various financial institutions.

Two further individuals, Louise Worsell and Melis Erda, were each charged with one count of fraudulent trading in the carrying on of the businesses of Balli Steel Plc with intent to defraud creditors. Melis Erda was also charged with six counts of conspiracy to defraud various financial institutions, while Louise Worsell faces five counts of the same charge.

Vahid Alaghbandwas charged several days later with two counts of fraudulent trading and one count of conspiracy to defraud The Bank of Singapore Limited, the private banking arm of OCBC.

The investigation was triggered when the two Balli Steel companies went into liquidation owing some GBP500 million to a range of creditors. The SFO says "This exposed how the executives deceived trade finance banks to obtain loans and continue trading steel, despite knowing they were not able to make repayments."

They also attempted to fund their spiralling debts with approx. USD150M of fraudulently obtained loans. This fraud involved falsifying documents, some of which were produced under the name of an in house shipping company controlled and operated by Balli, a fact hidden from the banks.

The defendants will be sentenced in early April.