₹22,842-crore bank fraud case | CBI again grills ABG Shipyard promoter Rishi Agarwal

Former ABG shipyard MD Rishi Agarwal was part of conspiracy to commit offence, causing losses to consortium of 28 banks that extended credit to company from 2005 to 2012

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday again questioned Rishi Kamlesh Agarwal, former chairman and managing director of ABG Shipyard Limited, in connection with the ₹22,842-crore bank fraud case.

The agency has alleged that Mr. Agarwal was part of the conspiracy to commit the offence, causing losses to a consortium of 28 banks that extended credit facilities to the company from 2005 to 2012.

The lenders had restructured ABG Shipyard’s loan account under the Corporate Debt Restructuring mechanism on March 27, 2014. However, the operations of the company could not be revived and it was not able to make the required repayments. Following an audit of the transactions, which detected several irregularities, the account was declared a non-performing asset (NPA) on July 30, 2016, with effect from November 30, 2013.

Then, a forensic audit of the account was also ordered. It covered the period from 2012 to 2017. During the exercise, prima facie evidence of alleged diversion and other illegalities were found. Funds had been transferred to 98 related entities. Based on the findings, several consortium members declared the account as fraud between April 2019 and March 2020.

The company was also referred to the National Company Law Tribunal-Ahmedabad for Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process.