CBI Files Chargesheet Against Ex-ABG Shipyard Chairman Rishi Agarwal & 24 Others

The CBI stated that it has filed charges against former ABG Shipyard Chairman Rishi Agarwal and others in a Rs 23,000-crore bank fraud case.

Former ABG Shipyard Chairman Rishi Agarwal (File Photo)

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The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officials on Saturday stated that it has filed charges against former ABG Shipyard Chairman Rishi Agarwal and others in a Rs 23,000-crore bank fraud case, news agency PTI reported. 

CBI files charge sheet against former ABG Shipyard Chairman Rishi Agarwal and others in Rs 23,000-cr bank fraud case: Officials

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) November 19, 2022

The chargesheet has been filed against 25 accused, including Mumbai-based Private Company ABG Shipyard Ltd, its chairman, and promoter, and 18 other entities, in a continuing probe of a case involving a 22,842 crore fraud, according to the country's premier probing agency. 

The CBI had filed a case against Agarwal and a few others in February of this year and had conducted searches in 13 different locations barely days after filing the case, The Business Today reported. 

Under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Prevention of Corruption Act, they were previously charged with criminal conspiracy, cheating, and criminal breach of trust. The case was brought in response to a complaint lodged by the State Bank of India (SBI).

The CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) have charged Agarwal and others with conspiring and undertaking illegal crimes such as fund diversion, misappropriation, criminal breach of trust, and misusing bank funds for purposes other than those for which they were released, according to the Business Today report.

Agarwal, a Mumbai resident, has been booked by the CBI and ED with orchestrating India's largest bank fraud and defrauding a consortium of banks led by ICICI Bank and the SBI.

The investigating agency had searched Agarwal's South Mumbai home and taken important documents. According to the report, the fraud principally consists of large transfers by ABG Shipyard to connected parties and subsequent revisions to entries. The corporation has also been accused of diverting bank financing to make large investments in its offshore affiliate. According to the CBI, the critical time of the fraud was from 2005 to 2012.

(With Inputs From Agencies)