Pankaj Oswal is an Indian businessman. He was the chairman and sole founder of Burrup Holdings Limited,[1] a Perth, Australia based company and one of the world's largest liquid ammonia production companies.[2] Oswal has an estimated fortune of over A$3 billion.[3]

Personal life

Pankaj is the son of Abhay Kumar Oswal, founder of Oswal Agro Mills and Oswal Greentech which are currently managed by his brother Shael Oswal. He grew up in India and studied at Manipal Institute of Technology. After graduating, he worked in several of his father's enterprises.[4] He is married to Radhika Oswal; the couple has two daughters.[5]

Controversy

In competing legal claims over billions of dollars, Pankaj and his wife and their bank, ANZ Bank attacked each other.[6][7]

All lawsuits came to an end in August 2016, when the parties settled their lawsuits over their Burrup Fertiliser business. ANZ paid an undisclosed amount said to be hundreds of millions of dollars to Mr. and Mrs. Oswal for taking over Burrup Fertiliser Business without giving due consideration clearing their names from all allegations received.[8] [7]

Competing claims

The couple had been accused of embezzling upwards of $150 million from Burrup Holdings to fund a lifestyle of private jets, yachts, luxury cars, and building a 'Taj Mahal' on the Swan River in Perth.[6] The Oswals had accused ANZ staff of acting in a bigoted manner towards them, emphasising their background as Indian nationals.[8] They had also claimed ANZ's former chief risk officer Chris Page had used physical force by putting Mr. Oswal in a headlock to force them to sign a guarantee over their shares that led to the forced sale of their stake.[8] ANZ chief legal counsel was also accused of telling Mrs. Oswal they would report the alleged embezzlement and she and her husband would go to jail and their children would be orphans if they did not sign the guarantee.[8] They also claimed ANZ breached its fiduciary duty when selling Burrup Fertilisers.[9]

References

  1. ↑ "Burrup Fertilisers Ammonia Plant". Chemical Technology.
  2. ↑ "About Burrup Holdings Ltd". Ibisworld.com.au. 31 March 2009. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  3. ↑ Sarah-Jane Tasker (7 June 2008). "Oswal family failures outweighs fertiliser success". The Australian. Archived from the original on 12 September 2012. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  4. ↑ Business Information Agency. ASIA Major Manufacturers. Business Information Agency. p. 220 item 4003. ISBN 978-1-4187-8517-8. Retrieved 4 January 2012. {{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  5. ↑ Victoria Laurie (7 June 2008). "Meet the Oswals". The Australian. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  6. 1 2 "Fertiliser tycoon Pankaj Oswal siphoned off $150m in company funds, court hears". The Guardian. Australian Associated Press. 14 June 2016.
  7. 1 2 "Oswals 'very satisfied' after settling billion dollar legal case with ANZ". The Guardian. Australian Associated Press. 22 September 2016.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Danckert, Sarah (18 August 2016). "Oswals, ANZ agree to in principle settlement". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  9. ↑ Wahlquist, Calla (30 May 2016). "Lawyers at 20 paces as ANZ faces $2.5bn claim from Indian socialite couple". The Guardian.
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