Pankaj, Radhika Oswal told not to leave Australia over tax claims: Report

Orders issued over Radhika Oswal's unpaid $190 million tax bill; prepared to stay as much time as it takes, says Pankaj Oswal

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Indian businessman Pankaj Oswal and his wife Radhika Oswal have been barred indefinitely from leaving Australia after they landed there this week for court battles over their crumbled empire, The West Australian reported on Thursday.

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) issued the pair with “Departure Prohibition Orders over Mrs Oswal’s unpaid $190 million tax bill, which will go to court in June,” the Perth based newspaper added.

The move comes at a time when Pankaj is locked in a bitter succession battle with his mother over the estate of his deceased father Abhey Oswal.

When contacted, Oswal said in an emailed response, “The contested ATO claim is substantially lower or even equal to zero, as verified by our independent commercial consultants.”

He added that “We came to Australia on our own choice, to fight a legal case and clear our name. We are prepared to spend as much time as it takes, in Australia to seek justice from the Australian legal system.”

Oswal added that their damage claim on ANZ bank, YARA and APACHE was worth $1.2 billion. “The claim for our $1.2 billion damages starts on May 30 and we hope that all the witnesses from YARA (whose ex directors are all currently in jail for bribery), Apache Corp and ANZ will make themselves available for the trial now that we are here,” he said.