Indian-Australian fertilizer business magnate couple Pankaj and Radhika Oswal siphon of more than $150 million of Burrup Fertilizer Plant money for personal splurge
July 20 Perth:Indian-Australian business tycoon and former fertilizer plant chairman Pankaj Oswal and his glamorous wife Radhika Oswal have been accused of misappropriating funds of more that $150 million from the Burrup ammonia fertilizer plant company for his wife’s lavish lifestyle needs ,restaurant business in London and NYC,Gulfstream jet, construction of Peppermint Grove mansion in Perth-Taj Mahal by the Swan , a farm, luxury cars, a Fairline cabin cruiser ,Dalkeith home, credit card debts,mining ventures,school fees.
The Oswals’ Burrup Fertilisers empire collapsed in 2010 and the couple left Perth leaving behind an eyesore mansion dubbed the ‘Taj Mahal on the Swan’, which was estimated to be worth up to $70 million when it was completed.
The Oswals left Australia in December 2010 owing the ANZ bank almost $900m amid a string of allegations that Pankaj Oswal had been siphoning millions out of Burrup Fertilisers for years.
The Oswals have been taken to civil court over this allegations.
The Oswals concealed $US490 million in secret excess cost in the construction of the Burrup ammonia plant, including from an unsuspecting public during a failed initial public offering in 2008.
The couple returned to Australia in April 2016 after a five-year absence and were barred from leaving as the Australian Tax Office slapped them with a Departure Prohibition Order.
The ATO prohibition order means the couple will not leave Australia for a period of time.
The bank initially lent Burrup Fertilisers $360m for construction of the ammonia plant in 2002 and refinancings are believed to have occurred in 2005 and 2006.
The ANZ appointed receivers who are seeking $95.7m in compensation from Pankaj Oswal for his breach of statutory and fiduciary duties as director of Burrup Fertilisers.
They are also seeking $13.4m from his wife Radhika Oswal for allegedly being involved in the breach and demanding certain payments to discharge her personal liabilities.
The Oswals deny the claims.
Pankaj and Radhika Oswal are suing ANZ for $2.5 billion in compensation after claiming that the $650 million sale of their 65 per cent stake in the business,was undervalued by the bank.
Mrs Oswal told the court that she was pressured into signing a millions dollar guarantee over to ANZ to prevent her husband going to jail for fraud over falsified security documents, which the bank denies and threatened that her children who go to school will be orphans.
Pankaj Oswal, who is seeking to rebuild his global empire from a new base in Dubai, has decided to fight back against the ANZ, accusing the bank of conspiring with Yara to seize control of Burrup.
In February 2012 ,Burrup Holdings Ltd (BHL) was renamed Yara Pilbara Holdings Ltd (YPHL) after Yara International became the company’s majority shareholder.
US oil and gas company Apache corporation subsidiary Apache Energy has a 49% stake of YPHL.
According to parent company Burrup Holdings’ 2008 prospectus, ANZ entered a adapted “project loan asset swap” agreement with Burrup under which the bank made payments to Oswal’s private trust -Burrup Trust whose sole shareholder and director was Oswal.
He was receiving a fee via the complex ANZ loan agreement.Oswal withdrew large sums of money as guarantee fee.Yara which owned 35% of Burrup was unaware of this arrangement.
Mr Oswal will join other parties over mediation talk in Melbourne in order to settle the civil court case.