London, Mar 7 (IANS): Indian-born British billionaire, Sanjeev Gupta is at the centre of another controversy in the UK after the steel firm owned by him is in crisis talks with government officials as fears mount that the financing behind the industrialist's empire is unravelling.

The Daily Mail newspaper reported that thousands of jobs are feared to be at risk in the UK steel industry after the biggest lender to Gupta's GFG Alliance, a specialist bank called Greensill Capital that counts former Prime Minister David Cameron as an adviser, teeters on the brink of collapse.

GFG is a loose collection of companies that includes Liberty Steel - Britain's third-largest steel maker with 3,000 employees at 11 sites.

The group has held talks with business department (Beis) officials as pressure has grown from MPs and unions for Gupta to explain what effect the crisis at Greensill will have on its finances, the report said.

It added that he has long been criticised for the GFG Alliance's opaque accounting and complex structure.

A spokesman for the steel union Community said: "There's no doubt these reports are concerning and on behalf of our members we are pressing the company for answers."

Greensill was plunged into crisis this week after several of its major backers walked away.

Its woes deepened yesterday when Credit Suisse, a major funder, announced it would wind up 7.2 billion punds of Greensill assets.

GFG relies on supply-chain financing from Greensill to pay its suppliers and without that money it could struggle to pay its bills, the report said.