Pankaj and Radhika Oswal barred from leaving Australia until they pay dues
NEW DELHI: Businessman Pankaj Oswal and wife Radhika have been bar red from leaving Australia, according to a report in The West Australian, by the Australian Taxation Office. The hearings will start in June, according to the newspaper.
“We are not in custody or detention. The departure prohibition order (DPO) only stops you from leaving the country, before we sort out the issues, which we have ourselves very much come to do. This is just another show of bullying and muscle power... The issuance of DPO is merely a tactic to intimidate us,” Oswal told news agency Press Trust of India.
Oswal is fighting a succession battle back home with his mother Aruna over the business empire of his father, Abhay Oswal, who died in Moscow on March 29 after a heart attack. His businesses include two listed companies, Oswal Greentech and Oswal Agro Mills, and is estimated to be worth ` 1,000 crore. On Tuesday, Oswal Greentech and Oswal Agro Mills informed the stock exchanges that the shares of Abhey Oswal had been transferred to his wife Aruna.
In 2006, Pankaj and Radhika set up one of the world’s largest ammonia plants, Burrup Fertiliser, in Perth. In December 2009, ANZ’s $900 million in loans to Burrup were guaranteed by the shares of Pankaj (30%), Radhika (35%) and the Norwegian ammonia group Yara International (35%). ANZ, which claims that the Oswals owe it around $100 million, appointed a receiver in December 2010. In January 2011, the Oswals’ shares were sold to Apache Corp and Yara. ANZ has also recalled $860-million loans to Burrup over charges of financial irregularities.
The Oswals deny all charges. They have sought compensation for losses after the plant was put into receivership — a type of corporate bankruptcy in which a receiver is appointed by bankruptcy courts or creditors to run the company. They now need to win the case against ANZ, and another against Yara and Apache, which are due to start next month, to pay the tax bill.
They are now staring at a $190 million tax bill. The Australian Taxation Office, which has stopped Pankaj and Radhika from leaving Australia, said the Oswals tried to dupe creditors by placing a $45-million mortgage on their properties.
Pankaj, however, said the claim was for alleged capital gain taxes. “Radhika and I were living in Australia on a temporary resident visa and the issue of paying capital gain tax does not arise for non-residents. So we are not liable to pay capital gains tax,” he said.
The Oswals are known for their $70-million house in Perth, dubbed the country’s most expensive. It has been referred to as the “Taj-Mahal-on-the-Swan”.