Key Points
ABG Shipyard Ltd, the Gujarat-based shipbuilder accused in India's biggest bank fraud case, created 27 "paper companies" and used 38 Singapore-based group entities to divert the money borrowed from a consortium of lenders led by the ICICI Bank, the Enforcement Directorate said in its chargesheet filed recently in a Gujarat court...
In its court documents, the federal agency that probed the money laundering aspect of the 22,842 crore alleged scam said part of the funds was transferred to Singapore and utilised for investments in mutual funds in tax havens..
According to the ED, ABG Shipyard received an advance payment of 75 crore from the Navy, but "Agarwal diverted the funds through some paper concerns/namesake entities and did not complete the order"...
However, the Enforcement Directorate claimed, its probe revealed that the company, "in collusion with its promoters/directors and other associate entities, hatched a criminal conspiracy" with an "intention to cheat and defraud the consortium of banks", and utilised the funds for purposes other than those stated in the loan agreements...
