No effort to delay ABG Shipyard fraud probe, says SBI
PremiumLenders have been engaging with CBI regularly since Nov 2019, claims SBI
MUMBAI : There was no attempt to delay an investigation in the case of alleged fraud at ABG Shipyard Ltd and, since the filing of the first complaint with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in November 2019, there was continuous engagement between the agency and lenders, State Bank of India (SBI) said on Sunday.
Its statement came after the Congress asked at a press conference held by the party on Sunday why it took so long to file an FIR since the company had already gone into liquidation.
News agency PTI reported on Saturday that the CBI booked ABG Shipyard Ltd and its then chairman and managing director Rishi Kamlesh Agarwal, along with others, for allegedly cheating a consortium of banks of over ₹22,842 crore.
“The circumstances of the fraud, as well as CBI requirements, were further deliberated in the various meetings of joint lenders, and a fresh and comprehensive second complaint was filed in December 2020. The account is presently undergoing liquidation under an NCLT (National Company Law Tribunal)-driven process," the statement said.
ABG Shipyard was ordered to be liquidated in 2019 under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).
The lender said fraud is declared based on forensic audit report findings that are discussed thoroughly in joint lenders’ meetings. Typically, when fraud is declared, an initial complaint is preferred with the CBI and further information is gathered based on their inquiries.
“In a few cases, when substantial additional information is gathered, a second compliant incorporating full and complete details is filed which forms the basis for the FIR," it said.
SBI said though ICICI Bank Ltd was the lead lender in the consortium, followed by IDBI Bank Ltd, it was preferred that SBI lodges the complaint with the CBI, being the largest lender.
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Laying out the details of the account, India’s largest lender said ABG Shipyard, incorporated on 15 March 1985, has had banking arrangements since 2001. It was financed under a consortium arrangement by over two dozen lenders with private lender ICICI Bank as the lead. Due to poor performance, the account turned non-performing on 30 November 2013 and several efforts were made to revive the company failed, it said.
The account was then restructured under the corporate debt restructuring mechanism in March 2014 by all lenders, which also did not take off.
“As the restructuring failed, the account was classified a non-performing asset in July 2016 with backdated effect from 30 November 2013. E&Y was appointed the forensic auditor by lenders during April 2018 and submitted its report on 19 January," it said.
SBI said that the E&Y report was placed before the Fraud Identification Committee of 18 lenders in 2019.
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