New Delhi (The Hawk): ABG Shipyard and 24 other people, including its CMD and other officials, have been charged with loan fraud in a case involving Rs 22,000 crore.
The accused used the funds to purchase properties across the nation, according to the agency's initial chargesheet in the case.
The CBI has determined that transactions totaling Rs 5000 crore were made through a variety of channels.
On February 7, the agency filed a complaint against ABG Shipyard, its CMD Rishi Kamlesh Aggarwal, CFO Dhananjay Datar Corporate Guarantor, and unidentified individuals.
State Bank of India, the complainant, claimed in its complaint that the accused had defrauded a group of 28 banks, led by ICICI Bank, resulting in a fraud of Rs 22,842 crore.
According to the CBI, the accused is accused of transferring sizable sums to its affiliated parties, after which adjustment entries were made.
By rerouting the bank loans, significant investments were made in its overseas subsidiary. Additionally, it was claimed that money taken from banks was used to buy enormous assets in the name of the related parties.
On February 12, searches were previously carried out at roughly 13 different locations, and this resulted in the recovery of several incriminating documents, including the borrower company's accounting records, purchase and sales information, share registers, various contract files, etc.
Additionally, LOCs were issued against the accused.
Numerous witnesses were questioned during the investigation, including representatives of the aforementioned private company and bank officials.
On September 21, the CBI detained the Promoter and Chairman at the time. Investigation revealed that the accused had colluded with others to incorporate a number of entities both inside and outside the nation with the aid of his staff, and had continued to syphon off and divert bank funds.
During the investigation, it was discovered that the accused fraudulently syphoned off a sizable sum of the bank/business fund of the aforementioned private company, creating a sizable number of personal assets in the form of immovable properties like opulent flats, multistory buildings, and lands (with a current value in crores).
The accused are accused of falsifying and misrepresenting the company's audited books as well.
The audited financial statements contained false entries regarding Corporate Guarantees, Overstatement of Subsidy Amount, and Non-Disclosure of Non-Fund Based Credit Facilities Obtained from Banks or Financial Institutions.
According to the CBI, its investigations have shown that ABG Shipyard's three Singapore-based offshore group entities obtained numerous bank guarantees fraudulently between 2010 and 2013 as a result of sham contracts, causing an alleged diversion and subsequent loss to the banks.
"By establishing Letter of Credits in favour of another Singapore-based company ostensibly for the import of designs and drawings for different cassels/hulls, ABG Shipyad is accused of embezzling public funds. Investigations have also uncovered fraud through the formation of a web of businesses, some of which were used to buy properties in prestigious locations like Mumbai and Surat. These include four opulent apartments in Mumbai, a residential tower with 14 apartments in Mumbai, and approximately 5–6 acres of commercial land in Surat "The chargesheet makes reference to the CBI.
(Inputs from Agencies)
