‘Oswal took millions out of biz for personal use’

MELBOURNE: Indian businessman Pankaj misappropriated 150 million dollars (almost Rs 750 crore) from his Australian fertiliser business for personal benefit such

MELBOURNE: Indian businessman Pankaj misappropriated 150 million dollars (almost Rs 750 crore) from his Australian fertiliser business for personal benefit such as acquiring a mansion, luxury cars and his wife’s vegetarian restaurant chain, the Supreme Court of Victoria was told on Tuesday.

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Oswal and his wife Radhika Oswal are fighting the legal battle against the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) for allegedly undervaluing shares of their fertiliser company to recoup millions in debts.

Philip Solomon, who represented the fertiliser company, told the court that Oswal used over 150 million Australian dollars from the business for his and his wife’s benefit, in some instances using fake invoices.

It was alleged that the misappropriation included 60 million dollars to a private Burrup trust account, 11 million dollars to a property in the exclusive suburb of Peppermint Grove in Western Australia, several million to parcels of land unrelated to the business and 8 million dollars to Radhika’s restaurant chain in London and New York. “They’re not fertiliser assets... they are not for the benefit of fertiliser,” Solomon told the court.

The misappropriations became “rampant” in 2010, with over 25 million dollars allegedly misappropriated in one month alone, Solomon said.