Which Banks Have Been Worst Impacted By ABG Shipyard Ltd Scam? Know Here

ABG Shipyard: ICICI Bank has been cheated of a staggering Rs 7,089 crore, the highest of all banks. It is followed by IDBI Bank Ltd with the fraud amount of Rs 3,639 crore.

New Delhi: The loan fraud, allegedly committed by ABG Shipyard Ltd, has impacted major banks in the country. According to media reports, ICICI Bank and IDBI Bank have been hit the worst by the scam. The IPO-bound LIC too has also been badly impacted. The scam was first reported by the State Bank of India.

According to the report, the State Bank of India (SBI) had named ABG Shipyard Ltd, the corporate guarantor ABG Shipyard International Pvt Ltd, the company’s Chairman-cum-Managing Director Rishi Kamlesh Agarwal, Executive Director Santhanam Muthaswamy, Directors Sushil Kumar Agarwal, Ashwini Kumar (all from Mumbai), Ravi Vimal Nevetia (Pune), besides unknown persons and public servants in the complaint.

ICICI Bank has been cheated of a staggering Rs 7,089 crore, the highest of all banks. It is followed by IDBI Bank Ltd with the fraud amount of Rs 3,639 crore. SBI follows IDBI Bank closely in the list with an exposure of Rs 2,925 crore.

Ahead of LIC IPO, the biggest life insurer in the country has also reportedly been rigged for Rs 136. Highlighting the same, the SBI has pointed accusing fingers at the (above-mentioned) ABGSL officials for committing the ‘criminal activities,’ but has given a clean chit to its own staff.

‘ABGSL and officials colluded to commit the scam’

The report said that in the first complaint to the CBI way back on Aug 25, 2020, the SBI had stated, “The accused (ABGSL & its officials) colluded together in committing the criminal activities. However, the involvement of unknown persons and public servants may also be examined during investigations.”

It also added, “The (SBI) Bank is not suspecting the involvement of its staff in the fraud perpetrated by the accused persons. The bank is not suspecting any common conspirator.”

Matter was earlier closed in 2018

According to SBI, the matter of staff accountability was closed in November 2018 after the intervention of ‘Competent authority’. However, a forensic report of the audit in 2019 revealed the manner in which ABGSL and its officials colluded with each other to divert and misappropriate funds.

The SBI complaint was lodged with the CBI, New Delhi, only around 20 months after the Forensic Audit report, while the central probe agency took cognisance 18 months later to file the FIR on Feb 7, 2022.

(With inputs from IANS)