The collapse of the business has disrupted fuel supplies
The former owner of a British oil refinery is being sued following the chaotic collapse of his business empire and amid fears he has fled the country.
Winston Soosaipillai is accused of breaching his financial duties to the Prax group before it declared insolvency earlier in July 2025.
If he loses, the tycoon could potentially be forced to pay damages or hand over assets such as the mansion he owns in Surrey.
Prax’s parent company, State Oil Ltd, which owned the Lindsey oil refinery in Lincolnshire, a string of petrol stations, and oil and gas operations near the Shetland Islands, declared insolvency earlier this month and was forced to call in administrators.
The collapse of the business has disrupted fuel supplies, put hundreds of jobs at risk, and left tax officials chasing large unpaid bills.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said Prax’s rapid demise blindsided the Government, with an investigation now underway into the events that preceded it.
The Official Receiver has taken control of the Lindsey oil refinery, given the site’s important role in the nation’s fuel supply.
Amid the chaos, neither government officials nor administrators looking after what is left of Prax have been able to trace the whereabouts of Mr Soosaipillai or his wife, Arani Soosaipillai, who co-owned the business with him.
Mr Soosaipillai has been uncontactable since the business collapsed, with calls and emails going unanswered. Insiders at his former business believe he has left the country.
He and his wife founded Prax in 1999 after studying accountancy and have done well out of the business, which reportedly made them billionaires.
The couple own a £4.5 million mansion in the gated St George’s Hill estate in Weybridge, which in the past has been home to Russian oligarchs and football star Gary Lineker.
In the year before Prax collapsed, the Soosaipillais paid themselves a £3.7 million dividend despite Prax posting £22 million worth of losses.
Prax is also understood to have owed about £250 million in taxes to HM Revenue and Customs at the time it collapsed.
Mr Soosaipillai could soon face claims on his assets after six of his former companies, including State Oil Ltd, Prax Petroleum, and Harvest Energy, took legal action against him in the High Court.
The claim is for “breach of fiduciary duty”, records show.
Before the collapse of the Prax group, Mr Soosaipillai was the sole director of five of the companies now bringing the lawsuit. The only exception was State Oil Ltd, where he was one of three directors.
Under company law, directors have a fiduciary duty, a legal responsibility, to act in the best interests of their business and not for their own personal gain.
The specific allegations against Mr Soosaipillai are not yet clear because the claim documents have not yet been published.
Teneo, the City firm responsible for the administration of the Prax group, declined to comment on Wednesday.
A Government spokesman confirmed that the Insolvency Service, which has taken control of Prax Lindsey Oil Refinery Ltd only, is not a party to the legal action.
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