CBI has registered a case of fraud against ABG Shipyard Ltd and its then Chairman and Managing Director and Managing Director Rishi Kamlesh Agarwal and others in the Banking Fraud case. The FIR has been registered in connection with the alleged fraud of Rs 22,842 crore with a consortium of 28 banks led by the State Bank of India (SBI). This is one of the biggest cases of banking fraud registered by the CBI so far.
The company works for shipbuilding and ship repair. Its shipyard is located in the Dahej and Surat of Gujarat. This scam can be called the biggest scam in banking fraud so far. Even bigger than than Nirav Modi’s scam.
Apart from Agarwal, the agency has also registered a case against the then executive director Santhanam Muthuswamy, directors Ashwini Kumar, Sushil Kumar Agarwal and Ravi Vimal Nevetia and another company ABG International Pvt Ltd. A case has been registered against them for criminal conspiracy, cheating, criminal breach of trust and abuse of office.
The first complaint was filed by the bank on November 8, 2019. On this, the CBI had sought some clarifications on March 12, 2020. The bank then lodged a fresh complaint in August that year. After investigating for about one and a half years, the CBI, acting on the complaint, filed a complaint on February 7, 2022.
The company has taken credit from 28 banks and financial institutions and SBI has an exposure of about Rs 2,468.51 crore. Forensing audit has revealed that between 2012-17, the accused committed illegal activities like diversion of funds, irregularities and criminal breach of trust in collusion with each other. It has been said in the FIR that instead of the purpose for which the banks released the funds, they were used for some other purpose.
ABG Shipyard Limited is a private sector ship building company. The company manufactures Bulk Carriers, Deck Barges, Interceptor, Boats, Anchor Handling Supply Ships, Tugs and Offshore Vessels. The company serves commercial and government customers in India. The shipyards of this company are located at Dahej and Surat in Gujarat.