Charles King, the Swiss company suspected of acting as a front for Gupta family interests, has lost an arbitration battle to enforce an agreement to take ownership of the Optimum Coal group from Tegeta Exploration and Resources.

Tegeta, once the crown jewels in the Gupta empire, is under business rescue and the Charles King application was opposed by the business rescue practitioners who were installed in February this year.

Retired judge Nigel Willis ruled that the sale contract was validly canceled in April and that in any case the contract lapsed at the end of August when key conditions were not fulfilled.

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Read our original story on why we think the deal was a sham from the start.