Hunt for owner of oil refinery that collapsed owing taxman £250m
Officials tasked with rescuing the Prax Lindsey oil refinery are unclear as to the whereabouts of Sanjeev Soosaipillai, its chief executive. He has been uncontactable since the business collapsed last week, with calls and emails going unanswered.
Some sources close to the situation have suggested he may be out of the country, fuelling questions about the collapse of his $10bn (£7bn) energy empire, Prax.
Mr Soosaipillai is under mounting pressure after disappearing in the wake of his company's unexpected insolvency over a week ago. Workers have accused him of abandoning the business and its staff.
Ed Miliband has already launched an urgent investigation into the collapse of Prax, which owned the Lindsey refinery. The Energy Secretary said he was concerned about 'the conduct of directors' in a statement earlier this month.
The insolvency has put hundreds of jobs at risk and raised fears over Britain's fuel supplies.
One employee questioned whether the collapse was down to 'complete incompetence'. Another said that workers had been 'fooled' by the owners, who oversaw a period of 'utter madness' and incomprehensible decision-making.
The Telegraph previously revealed that Mr Soosaipillai and his wife, Arani, who were both the sole owners of the Prax business, paid themselves a £3.7m dividend the year before its collapse despite posting $30m of losses.
One worker said on social media: 'I hope the Government catch up with you and make an example of yourself and partners and make you pay for what you have done.'
They said Mr Soosaipillai 'stuck it to us and totally fooled me and many others who bought into his vision'.
Criticism of the company's owners comes amid questions over an unpaid £250m tax bill at the refinery, which supplies 10pc of Britain's fuel.
It is understood Lindsey collapsed after battling severe cash flow problems for more than a year, which prompted bosses to seek more lenient repayment terms from HM Revenue & Customs.
This led to the company unsuccessfully lobbying for government support last year.
As well as owning the refinery, Prax's energy empire also includes petrol stations and oil storage sites. The official receiver has taken over the refinery, with local MPs set to visit the site in the coming days.
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