The proprietors of ABG Shipyard Ltd will be summoned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for interrogation in connection with a case filed against them for suspected criminal conspiracy, cheating, and corruption involving large-scale loans from a major banks.
According to sources, the CBI is expected to summon ABG Shipyard’s former chairman and managing director Rishi Kamlesh Agarwal, former executive director Santhanam Muthaswamy, and directors Ashwini Kumar, Sushil Kumar Agarwal, and Ravi Vimal Nevatia for questioning in what is claimed to be India’s largest bank fraud case involving a sum of Rs 22,842 crore,.
Several suspicious papers, including the suspected borrower’s books of accounts, purchase and sales information, minutes of board meetings, share registers, and different contract files, have been collected and are being examined. The accused’s and linked parties’ bank account information has also been collected. Moreover, the suspects have been tracked down in India. CBI has already issued Look Out Circulars (LOCs) against the suspects, according to a statement from the investigation agency. It went on to say that certain states’ revocation of General Consent to CBI Investigation has made registering bank fraud cases more difficult. There are around 100 high-value bank fraud cases that have been unable to be registered owing to state governments’ failure to comply with particular consent under section 6 of the DSPE Act when general consent has been withdrawn.
The CBI has previously searched 13 places associated with the accused, including the company’s headquarters and other properties, as well as the directors’ homes in Surat, Bharuch, Mumbai, and Pune, among others. In the previous 16 years, ABG Shipyard has built approximately 165 boats, including 46 for export, including specialized vessels such as newsprint carriers, self-discharging, and loading bulk cement carriers, and floating cranes.
