New Delhi: The Congress on Thursday accused the Modi government of running a "loot and escape" and "ease of committing fraud" scheme for bank fraudsters and questioned the "silence" of the prime minister on the ABG Shipyard scam of Rs 22,842 crore. Party spokesperson Gourav Vallabh asked why the recovery of Rs 13,975 crore from the ABG Shipyard was not done even after the Debt Recovery Tribunal in Ahmedabad had given orders in this regard in 2018. He claimed the DBT said in its order that if the amount is not paid by the ABG Shipyard, it should be recovered by selling ABG's movable and immovable property, asking why banks did not go ahead with it.
The CBI has questioned the then chairman and managing director of ABG Shipyard Limited, Rishi Agarwal, in connection with its probe into the alleged banking fraud, officials said. Agarwal was examined recently, the officials said without giving details of exact date of his examination. The action by the CBI came after it registered an FIR on February 7, 2022 on a complaint filed by SBI 17 months ago on August 25, 2020. The central probe agency has issued look out circulars against the accused in the case to prevent them from leaving the country, they said. Vallabh alleged complicity, collusion and connivance of those sitting in the highest echelons of power in the Modi government in the case. "'Loot and Escape' and 'ease of committing fraud' is the Modi government's flagship scheme for bank fraudsters as Rs 22,842 crore of public money was swindled," he told reporters.
"When the DRT, Ahmedabad had ordered for recovery of Rs 13,975 crore from the ABG in 2018, why was it not done for the last 4 years," he asked. Posing a set of nine questions on the issue, the Congress leader alleged that this has been the biggest fraud under the Modi government and it is only after
a gap of five years that the CBI registered an FIR against the promoters of ABG Shipyard on February 7 this year.