The biggest bank scam in India. Image Courtesy – India Today & NDTV
Another biggest bank scam has come to light in the country. The CBI has registered a case against ABG Shipyard Limited and its Chairman and Managing Director Rishi Kamlesh Agarwal, among others. The complaint has been registered in connection with an alleged fraud of over Rs 22,842 crore from a consortium of banks led by the State Bank of India (SBI). The FIR stated that this fraud has been committed through the diversion of funds, financial irregularities and illegal activities at the cost of bank funds.
A loan of Rs 2925 crore was taken from State Bank of India, Rs 7089 crore from ICICI Bank, Rs 3634 crore from IDBI, Rs 1614 crore from Bank of Baroda, Rs 1244 crore from PNB and Rs 1228 crore from IOB which has not been repaid.
CBI told that ABG Shipyard and their directors Rishi Aggarwal, Santhanam Muthuswamy and Ashwini Agarwal have defrauded banks of Rs 22,842 crore. They also told that ABG Shipyard and its flagship company used to do shipbuilding and repair work.
Everybody in India is aware of Nirav Modi’s Punjab National Bank scam. Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi are accused of fraud of more than Rs 13500 crore. He did this fraud in Punjab National Bank (PNB) and escaped. Apart from Nirav Modi, his wife Ami, brother Nishal, and uncle Mehul Choksi were the main accused in this scam. It was the biggest banking scam in India at that time.
The opposition leaders are raising questions about the delay of action against CBI during those years. Congress general Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala questioned, “Why did the centre take five years after liquidation proceedings of ABG Shipyard to lodge even an FIR for cheating 28 banks?” He asked this question in a press conference. Other opposition leaders are also targetting the Modi government in this issue.
Read: Talented, esteemed people of Bengal refused the government of India’s charity
Surjewala also raised the issue that in November 2018, the State Bank of India informed CBI in a written statement that there was a fraud committed by ABG Shipyard. The State Bank of India also sought the registration of an FIR and criminal action against the fraud. But, the CBI did nothing – instead, they pushed the related files back to the State Bank of India. He told that in spite of public money getting cheated, no FIR was lodged.
He alleged that those sitting at the highest levels in the Modi government have involvement with bank fraudsters. It was the biggest bank scam witnessed by the country.
The opposition leader also alleged that the comptroller and auditor general formally accused the then Gujarat government of showing undue favours to ABG Shipyard and Rishi Agarwal over allotting land at Rs 700/Sq. Metre. But, at that time, the actual price of the land was almost double – Rs 1400/Sq. Metre. Surjewala alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led Gujarat government allotted 50 hectares of land to ABG Shipyard as ‘dowry’.
Opposition leaders have highlighted the fact counting all the bank scam cases in recent years – Rishi Agarwal is added to the long list of bank defaulters Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi, Lalit Modi, Vijay Mallya, Chetan Sandesara, Jatin Mehta, etc.
Want to know who was Rishi Kamlesh Agarwal?
He is a resident of Surat in Gujarat. The Congress leaders allege that Rishi Kamlesh Agarwal is close to Narendra Modi. According to the reports, Rishi is related to the Ruia brothers. They alleged that ABG Shipyard was being allotted 1 lakh 21 thousand square metre land by the Gujarat government, and at that time, Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister of the state. Rishi was in the delegation team with Narendra Modi when he had a tour in Korea in the year 2013. Rishi has also acquired the citizenship of Singapore. So, the leaders of the Congress party suspect that he might have fled from the country. However, a lookout circular has been issued by the CBI for Rishi Kamlesh Agarwal.
