The founders of ABG Shipyard stand accused of committing the largest fraud in the history of India. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in New Delhi has charged the yard with cheating a consortium of 28 banks and funnelling $3bn of loans.
The case has been brought against senior officials at the yard including Rishi Kamlesh Agarwal, Santhanam Muthaswamy, Ashwani Kumar, Sushil Kumar Agarwal and Ravi Vimal Nevetia.
CBI spokesperson RC Joshi told local media the accused had allegedly colluded and pulled off the fraud through fund diversions that were then used to purchase assets. He said huge investments were made in overseas subsidiaries.
ABG Shipyard, an offshoot of the ABG Group of companies, is based at Dahej and Surat and involved in building and repairing ships. It has been in severe financial difficulty since 2013.
