Australian Securities & Investments Commission case results in Mansa Group director jailed for four years and ten months for forgery and dishonest conduct

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) reported that Krishnakumar Sitaram Agrawal, a Sydney-based director of the Mansa Group, has been sentenced to a total of four years and ten months’ imprisonment, with a non-parole period of three years and three months, for forgery and dishonesty offences following an ASIC investigation. The District Court of New South Wales imposed prison terms of three years and three months for using false documents to obtain a financial advantage under the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW), and three years and ten months for dishonestly using his position as a director with the intention to gain an advantage and cause detriment under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth). The sentence commenced on 7 November 2025 and parole is not available before 6 February 2029. ASIC’s case related to conduct between 2017 and 2023 in which Mr Agrawal removed directors and shareholders of Mansa Group entities without their knowledge, obtained loans from third-party lenders totalling over AUD 20 million on that basis and/or using false documents, and used the loans for the benefit of other corporations he controlled. The Mansa Group comprises 27 companies and is now in voluntary administration or liquidation; a further Corporations Act offence was taken into account on sentence, and the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions prosecuted the matter following ASIC’s investigation.