ABG Shipyard fraud detected faster than average time in such cases: Nirmala Sitharaman

The Finance Minister hits back at Congress ‘noise’ calling it the ‘biggest scam’ as loan became an NPA before 2014

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the Opposition has put its foot on the proverbial axe by raising a hue and cry about the biggest banking fraud of ₹22,842 crore perpetrated on banks by ABG Shipyard, stressing that the account had turned into a non-performing asset (NPA) in November 2013 while the UPA was in power.

“The noises that are coming - that ‘Oh, this is the biggest Ghotaala (scam) in Prime Minister Modi’s time!’ Not at all, this was a loan given well prior to 2013, it had even become an NPA by 2013. So now, in Hindi you say that Apne pair pe kulhaadi (maarna) [to cut your own leg], that is exactly what is happening here,” she said.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a case against Gujarat-based ABG Shipyard and its directors for allegedly cheating 28 banks of ₹22,842 crore, in what is the biggest ever bank fraud taken up by the agency.