Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor ‘laundered’ Rs 4,300 crore: ED

While seeking the custody of Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor, the Enforcement Directorate contended that prima facie he was involved in generating Rs 4,300 crore in black money and “laundering” the amount.

The money was acquired, concealed and projected by Kapoor and other accused to proclaim them as “untainted”, and the ED sleuths were still probing the money trail of the crime, for which Kapoor’s custodial interrogation was needed, sources said.

Consequently, holiday court judge S.R. Salunkhe granted three days’ custody of Kapoor ED to till March 11.

Hours later on Sunday, Kapoor’s daughter Roshni Kapoor was prevented by ED from boarding a flight to London following a Look Out Notice (LOC) issued against the Kapoor family.

The ED further said that the alleged kickbacks of Rs 600 crore loan to DoIt Urban Ventures India Pvt. Ltd. (DUVIPL), run by Kapoor’s three daughters, was acquired by “pledging highly undervalued assets as mortgage” with Dewan Housing Finance Ltd (DHFL) and its promoter, Kapil Wadhawan and others.

According to sources, the matter came to light during another ED investigation when it was found that Yes Bank had subscribed to DHFL’s debentures worth Rs 3,700 crore between April-June 2018.

Simultaneously, it was also revealed that DHFL sanctioned a Rs 600 crore loan to DUVIPL, run by Kapoor’s daughters – Roshni Kapoor, Radha Kapoor-Khanna and Raakhee Kapoor-Tandon – who are the compnay’s 100 per cent shareholders.

Virtually snatching the thunder from the Central Bureau of Investigation, New Delhi, the ED swooped on Kapoor’s premises at 11 p.m. on March 6 (Friday night), took him for investigation and arrested him after around 30 hours, early Sunday morning.

Incidentally, the CBI-EOW, New Delhi, had filed its first information report against Kapoor and others on the morning of Saturday, March 7, when he was already under the ED’s detention, the sources pointed out.

The CBI’s FIR claimed that Kapoor, Wadhawan and others entered into a criminal conspiracy to extend financial benefits to DHFL through Yes Bank, in return for substantial “undue benefits” to Kapoor and his family members through their companies.

After Yes Bank subscribed to the DHFL debentures of Rs 3,700 crore, DHFL reciprocated by giving kickbacks of Rs 600 crore to Kapoor and his family disguised as a “loan” to DUVIPL, it added.

The ED said that Yes Bank had sanctioned another Rs 750 crore loan to a DHFL group company which was corroborated by the company’s official Rajendra Mirashie who stated that DUVIPL gave five properties valued at Rs 735 crore as mortgage to DHFL.

Investigations subsequently proved that the agricultural land was merely worth Rs 40 crore against the inflated amount of Rs 735 crore shown for the mortgage.

Mirashie said that the Kapoors never interacted with him and all instructions were received by him through two aides – Rana Kapoor’s Sr. Executive Secretary Lata Dave or Kapil Wadhawan’s Executive Assistant S. Govindan.

He also stated that the DUVIPL had no business activities or any revenue and its properties of around 100 acres in Raigad were lying unutilised, though the loan was to be repaid in a single shot after 60 months (in 2023), but DUVIPL was only paying the interest so far.-IANS News/ Quaid Najmi