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Properties worth 2.8k-crore attached in Yes Bank case
The Central Bureau of Investigation in March booked Rana Kapoor in connection with Yes Bank’s 3,700 crore investment in short-term debentures of DHFL. Kapoor is alleged to have been paid kickbacks of ₹600 crore in return.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday attached properties worth over ₹2,800 crore in connection with the Yes Bank case, the agency said in a statement. These include property worth ₹1,400 crore belonging to Rana Kapoor and his family and that worth ₹1,411 crore belonging to Dheeraj and Kapil Wadhawan of the Dewan Housing Finance Ltd (DHFL).
ED is probing Kapoor’s alleged use of the bank to extend loans in exchange for kickbacks detailed in a charge sheet filed on May 6. Kapoor, the founder and former managing director of Yes Bank, was arrested in March on money-laundering charges.
The Central Bureau of Investigation in March booked Kapoor in connection with Yes Bank’s 3,700 crore investment in short-term debentures of DHFL. Kapoor is alleged to have been paid kickbacks of ₹600 crore in return.
Kapoor is lodged in a Mumbai jail and his lawyer, Subhash Jadhav, declined comment on the property attachment. Wadhawans too are lodged in a Mumbai jail.
The prime properties of the Kapoors attached include a sprawling bungalow in Lutyens’ Delhi with a market value of ₹685 crore. Two flats of the Wadhawans in London, one in New York and commercial property in Australia were also attached under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
“The present market value of these assets is more than ₹2,800 crore and includes immovable properties in India and abroad, bank accounts, investments, luxury vehicles etc. These assets belong to Rana Kapoor, Kapil Wadhawan and Dheeraj Wadhawan and the entities controlled by them,” the ED statement said.
Other attached properties linked to Kapoor and related entities include an independent residential building at Cumbala Hill, three duplex flats Napean Sea Road in Mumbai, a residential flat at Nariman Point, and eight flats in India Bulls Blue, Worli. The total book value of Kapoor’s assets is ₹792 crore but their present market value is ₹1,400 crore, the agency said.
The Wadhawans other assets attached include 12 flats and individual houses in Mumbai and Pune, five luxury vehicles, and 344 bank accounts, the statement added.
HT on July 7 reported that ED action was imminent. ED officials had indicated on condition of anonymity that a Central London property linked to Kapoor as well as his fixed deposits worth around ₹50 crore were also likely to be attached. An official said this London property will be attached soon.
ED earlier in April attached bank deposits worth ₹115 crore of various companies of Kapoor and seized jewellery worth ₹22.87 crore. It also seized seven high-end luxury cars worth ₹12.58 crore belonging to the Wadhawan family in April.
ED has also identified several expensive properties of the Kapoors and companies they ran. These include bungalows, villas, clubs, resorts, apartments, farmland, etc, in Delhi, Mumbai, Goa, London, the US, the UK. The value of these properties runs into several thousand crores. ED officials have indicated these could have been obtained with proceeds from kickbacks for loans Yes Bank allegedly gave to undeserving companies.
In a charge sheet filed in May, ED put the proceeds of the crime at ₹5050 crore, and said the Kapoors used a complex web of at least 100 shell companies to channel this money. Loans worth around ₹30,000 crore given when Kapoor was in charge of the bank have turned into bad loans, with those worth ₹20,000 crore becoming non performing assets, ED’s charge sheet said.
