The
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has charged ABG Shipyard Limited and its
promoters with allegedly defrauding 28 banks, including the State Bank of
India, of over Rs 22,842 crore (around $3.03 billion), reports PTI.

The
CBI has filed a complaint against ABG Shipyard’s former chairman and managing
director Rishi Kamlesh Agarwal, the then executive director Santhanam
Muthaswamy, directors Ashwini Kumar, Sushil Kumar Agarwal and Ravi Vimal
Nivetia, company ABG International Pvt Ltd and unnamed public servants for the
alleged offences of defrauding, criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust
and abuse of official position under the IPC and the Prevention of Corruption
Act.

Also Read | ABG Shipyard fraud case: SBI says first complaint filed with CBI in Nov. 2019

The
SBI filed its first complaint on November 8, 2019, on which the CBI had asked
for some clarifications on March 12, 2020.

In
December 2020, the bank filed a fresh complaint. The CBI took action on the
complaint and filed an FIR on February 7, 2022.

Also Read | ONGC shares surge over 4% after reporting 596.7% rise in Q3 net profit

The
National Company Law Tribunal had ordered the liquidation of ABG Shipyard in
April 2019 under the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code. SBI alleged that it has
faced an estimated loss of Rs 2,468.5 crore and has security cover worth Rs
1,048.5 crore against ABG Shipyard.

Also Read | Free cosmetic surgery offered in massive health fraud scheme

After
the allegations of delay in action by the bank, SBI in a statement said,
“At no point in time there was an effort to delay the process. The
lender’s forum diligently follows through with CBI in all such cases.”

The
CBI said  in a statement, “Searches were
conducted on Saturday at 13 locations in the premises of the accused, including
the private company, and its directors at Surat, Bharuch, Mumbai and Pune,
which led to the recovery of incriminating documents.”

Also Read | Closing Bell: Sensex drops over 1700 points, Nifty closes at 16,843

The
CBI said a forensic audit report received from banks two years ago had found
instances of fraud in April 2012 and July 2017.

According
to the forensic audit, the company owed Rs7,089 crore to ICICI Bank, Rs 3,634
crore to IDBI Bank, Rs 2,925 crore to the State Bank of India, Rs 1,614 crore
to Bank of Baroda, Rs 1,244 crore to Punjab National Bank and Rs 1,228 crore to
Indian Overseas Bank.

Also Read | LIC IPO: Key points you should know

The
forensic audit included in the CBI complaint filed on Sunday said the fraud
took the form of diversion of funds, misappropriation and criminal breach of
trust.

The
funds were used for purposes other than the purpose for which they  were issued, the report said. The company
also violated the terms of its corporate debt restructuring.

Also Read | Former NSE MD steered by a yogi on critical decisions: SEBI

In
June 2017, the RBI named ABG Shipyard among the 12 large corporate accounts
shortlisted for immediate insolvency proceedings. Sundresh Bhat, the resolution
professional for ABG Shipyard, had filed petitions to the NCLT highlighting
preferential transactions, undervalued transactions and fraudulent or wrongful
trading by the company. In an order on April 25, 2019, the NCLT confirmed the
charges and the company eventually went into liquidation.