ABG Shipyard Bank Fraud: CBI Books Company For Cheating Banks Worth Rs 22,842 Crore

The Central Bureau of Investigation on Saturday stated that the CBI has charged ABG Shipyard Ltd and its then Chairman and Managing Director Rishi Kamlesh Agarwal, as well as others, with defrauding a consortium of banks led by State Bank of India of over Rs 22,842 crore.

They also named the former Executive Director Santhanam Muthaswamy, Directors Ashwini Kumar, Sushil Kumar Agarwal, and Ravi Vimal Nevetia, as well as another company ABG International Pvt Ltd, for alleged criminal conspiracy, cheating, criminal breach of trust, and abuse of official position under the IPC and the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The bank first filed a complaint on November 8, 2019, and on March 12, 2020, the CBI requested explanations. In August of that year, the bank filed a new case. The CBI acted on the allegation by filing a FIR on February 7, 2022, after “scrutinising” it for almost a year.

They stated the business received credit from 28 banks and commercial institutions, with the SBI having a Rs 2468.51 crore exposure. According to the forensic audit, between 2012 and 2017, the accused conspired and performed illicit actions such as money laundering, misappropriation, and criminal breach of trust.

It is the biggest bank fraud case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Funds were used for purposes other than for which they were released by banks, it said.