UK Court Freezes £150m of Assets Belonging to Owner of Collapsed Prax Lindsey Refinery

Published: 04 September 2025. The English Chronicle Desk

A UK court has frozen £150 million in assets belonging to Winston Soosaipillai, also known as Sanjeev Kumar, the owner of the Prax Lindsey oil refinery, following the company’s sudden financial collapse earlier this year. His whereabouts have remained unknown since the refinery, part of a wider energy group, entered administration.

Administrators overseeing five companies within the Prax group have initiated legal action against Soosaipillai, alleging breaches of his duties as a director. In July, the High Court granted a “freezing injunction” preventing him from selling or transferring assets valued up to £150 million within England and Wales. Noncompliance could result in fines, asset seizure, or imprisonment.

Court filings also reveal that the companies are pursuing damages connected to a £783 million securitisation facility, citing misrepresentation, contractual breaches, and unlawful or deceitful actions. The exact amount of damages sought has yet to be determined.

The news comes as trade union Unite protested outside Parliament, blaming the government for the closure of Lindsey in Lincolnshire and the shutdown of Scotland’s Grangemouth refinery, calling the events “acts of industrial vandalism.” Unite general secretary Sharon Graham urged the government to intervene and “save Lindsey” to protect jobs.

Lindsey, one of only five operational refineries left in the UK, will close permanently after failing to secure a buyer during the administration process. Following the collapse, government ministers called for an investigation into Soosaipillai, but officials have struggled to locate him. Sources suggest that Soosaipillai and his wife, Arani, relocated to Dubai shortly after the insolvency.

Since acquiring the refinery from Total in 2021, the couple reportedly withdrew around £11.5 million in salaries and dividends. The recent court order limits how Soosaipillai can access his funds, allowing him only £2,500 per week for living expenses and reasonable legal costs. He is also required to disclose all assets worth over £50,000.

The Prax Lindsey group, which started as a single petrol station in Surrey, had expanded over 25 years into an oil and gas empire generating annual revenues of £10 billion. At the time of its collapse, the company’s assets included a North Sea oilfield, hundreds of petrol stations, and Lindsey, which produced 10% of the UK’s fuel supply.

Teneo, the appointed administrator, revealed the precarious state of the company’s finances. Court documents indicate that Prax Lindsey had only £203 in its bank account when Glencore, its crude supplier, called in $53.6 million in debt. Inter-company loans among the group totaled over £1.5 billion, illustrating the unstable financial foundations that contributed to the refinery’s downfall.