ABG Shipyard, Directors Allegedly Cheated 28 Banks Of ₹ 22,842 Crore: CBI

The Central Bureau of Investigation today booked ABG Shipyard and its Directors Rishi Agarwal, Santhanam Muthuswamy, and Ashwini Kumar for allegedly defrauding 28 banks of ₹ 22,842 crore. 

ABG Shipyard Ltd is the flagship company of the ABG Group which is engaged in shipbuilding and ship repair. The shipyards are located in Dahej and Surat in Gujarat.

According to a complaint by the State Bank of India, the company owes ₹ 2,925 crore to the bank, ₹ 7,089 crore to ICICI Bank, ₹ 3,634 crore to IDBI Bank, ₹ 1,614 crore to Bank of Baroda, ₹ 1,244 to PNB and ₹ 1,228 crore to IOB.

“The Forensic Audit report dated 18.01.2019 submitted by M/s. Ernst & Young LP for the period April 2012 to July 2017 revealed that the accused have colluded together and committed illegal activities including diversion of funds, misappropriation, and criminal breach of trust and for purposes other than for the purpose for which the funds are released by the Bank”, the CBI alleged in its FIR.

ABGSL has constructed over 165 vessels.