Oswals settle with Apache

摘要

Former owners of the Burrup ammonia plant Pankaj and Radhika Oswal have reached a settlement with US oil and gas company Apache as part of a huge A$2.5 billion civil case currently running through the Australian courts. However, the main action, which the couple have brought against the Australian and New Zealand Bank (ANZ) over the sale of the ammonia business, continues. Talks between the Oswals and Norwegian chemical company Yara, which owned the remainder of the shareholding, are also continuing. The Oswals argue the US$560 million sale of their stake in parent company Burrup Holdings in 2012 represented less than half its true value and the bank was simply interested in getting the debt the Oswals owed covered. In return the Oswals have been accused of misappropriating more than $150 million of company funds for their own benefit, which the couple claim were partly in restitution of debts connected with the plant's construction.