ABG Shipyards ex-Chairman Agarwal's questioning over, may be called again tomorrow

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The second round of questioning of ABG Shipyards's former Chairman Rishi Kamlesh Agarwal, by the CBI in connection with the Rs 22,842 crore loan fraud case, ended late on Monday after over 8 hours of questioning. He is likely to be summoned again tomorrow. 

Emerging out of the CBI headquarters, Agarwal, who was accompanied by his legal team, didn't speak to media and immediately left. Earlier he was grilled on February 17 by the federal probe agency.

Agarwal was reportedly confronted with a few documents. The CBI, which had recently issued look out circular (LOC) against him and eight others connected to the case, had recently revealed that there were around 100 high value bank fraud cases that could not be registered due to non-accordance of specific consent by state governments where the general consent has been withdrawn.

The agency has seized incriminating documents, i.e account books of ABG Shipyards, its sale-purchase details, minutes of Board meetings, share registers, and contract files. Bank account details of ABG Shipyards and related parties have been obtained. In the case, there are 28 banks involved in the consortium with huge amount of disbursement to the company in the way of CC loans, term loans, letters of credit, bank guarantee etc. that were given as advance by the banks.

The fraud is primarily on account of huge transfer by ABG Shipyard Ltd to its related parties and subsequently making adjustment entries. It is also alleged that huge investment were made in its overseas subsidiary by diverting the bank loans and funds were also diverted to purchase huge assets in the name of its related parties.

ABG Shipyards took loan of Rs 1,228 crore from the Indian Overseas Bank, Rs 1,244 crore from the Punjab National Bank, Rs 1,614 crore from the Bank of Baroda, Rs 7,089 crore from the ICICI Bank and Rs 3,634 crore from the IDBI Bank and then defaulted. Initially the banks initiated an internal inquiry in which it was found that the company was cheating the consortium by diverting funds to different entities.

The forensic audit of ABG Shipyard Ltd therefore covers the period from 2012 to 2017. Meanwhile, the company ABGSL was also referred to NCLT, Ahmedabad on August 1, 2017 by ICICI Bank, being lead bank, for Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP).

In between April 2019 to March 2020, various Banks of the consortium declared the account of ABG Shipyard as fraud.

(With agency inputs)

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