The Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) probe report on the IL&FS group has listed 13 loan accounts of the beleaguered ABG conglomerate, including a personal loan amounting to Rs 29 crore to Anupama Agarwal, promoter Rishi Agarwal's wife — all given at the behest of the top management of the infrastructure financier without following the due process.
Some money taken on loan from IL&FS Financial Services (IFIN) was used to prevent ABG’s accounts from turning into non-performing assets.
The SFIO has termed the transactions an “evergreening exercise”. IFIN extended credit facilities to the ABG group, owned and controlled by Rishi Agarwal, since 2010, the combined exposure being around Rs 1,080 crore.
The amount was classified as NPA in September 2018.
Even the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in its report for FY15, pointed out insufficient security cover in the case of exposure to ABG International, and later for Onaway Industries during FY17.
Following the RBI objections on some accounts, Deepak Pareek, chief operating officer of IL&FS Financial Services (IFIN), sent an email on November 20, 2017, to Ravi Parathasarathy, Arun Saha and Hari Sankaran, all part of the erstwhile IL&FS top management, with a copy to Ramesh Bawa, also part of the same team.
The SFIO has found within these 13 loan accounts money was rotated to pay the dues arising on older accounts. For instance, PFS Shipping India was given a loan of Rs 52 crore. To repay the loan, Rs 6 crore was used out of Rs 65 crore received by ABG Cement Holdco Pvt Ltd from IFIN. Another Rs 9 crore was paid out of Rs 105 crore extended to ABG International Pvt Ltd.