Yes Bank case: ED attaches Rana Kapoor's London apartment worth Rs 93 crore
ED is probing Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor and Wadhawan brothers of DHFL in connection with an alleged case of money laundering.
Yes Bank's founder Rana Kapoor is being probed in connection with a money-laundering case by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The agency has now provisionally attached a residential flat owned by him on London's South Audley Street.
According to the ED, this residential flat owned by Rana Kapoor is located at Apartment 1, 77 South Audley Street in the UK's capital city. It was purchased by Rana Kapoor in 2017 for 9.9 million pounds (Rs 93 crore) in the name of DOIT Creations Jersey Limited, a company beneficially owned by him.
The market value of the flat is 13.5 million pounds (Rs 127 crore).
Officials familiar with the probe said a reliable source tipped off the ED that Rana Kapoor is making repeated attempts to alienate this property, and has even hired a reputed property consultant from London for this purpose. Open sources reveal that the same property on South Audley Street has also been listed for sale on multiple websites.
On March 7 of this year, the ED has recorded a money laundering case against Yes Bank's founder Rana Kapoor and others under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. This case was based on an FIR registered filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) under sections 120B r/w 420 of IPC and Section 7, 12 & 13(2) r/w 13(1) (d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
In the FIR, the apex probe agency had alleged that Yes Bank then led by Rana Kapoor invested Rs 3,700 crore in short-term debentures of Diwan Housing Finance Limited (DHFL) between April and June 2018. Simultaneously, Kapil Wadhawan of DHFL paid a kickback of Rs 600 crore in the form of a loan to DOIT Urban Ventures, a company owned by Rana Kapoor and his family members.
Yes Bank also sanctioned a loan of Rs 750 crore to RKW Developers Group, a company owned by Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan of DHFL. This loan was sanctioned for their Bandra Reclamation Project by the amount was allegedly siphoned off by the Wadhawan brothers through shell companies and never used for the intended purpose.
At present, Rana Kapoor and both the Wadhawan brothers are in judicial custody. They were arrested under the provisions of Section 19 of the PMLA, 2002 on the basis of available evidence.
The ED has issued five attachment orders to date, including the most recent one with a collective value of Rs 2,012 crore. With the issuance of this attachment order, the ED has attached "whole proceeds of crime" of Rs 600 crore while the remaining attachments of Rs 1,411 crore related to the Wadhawan brothers.
In addition to the above attachments, ED has also attached another property of Rana Kapoor valued at Rs 307 crore in a separate PMLA case. The total value of Kapoor's properties attached by the ED is an estimated Rs 907 crore.
Two prosecution complaints have also been filed in connection with this case citing Rana Kapoor, Kapil Wadhawan, Dheeraj Wadhawan and their associates as accused.
(With inputs from Munish Pandey)