YES Bank founder sent to judicial custody till April 2

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday obtained a production warrant for YES Bank founder Rana Kapoor who allegedly received kickbacks from housing

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday obtained a production warrant for YES Bank founder Rana Kapoor who allegedly received kickbacks from housing finance company by Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Ltd (DHFL). Earlier on Friday, a special court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act granted judicial custody of Kapoor till April 2 to the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The CBI will seek Kapoor’s custody for further investigation. Earlier this month, the CBI filed two first information reports according to in which Kapoor, his wife Bindu and others were charged with cheating, forgery and corrupt practices.

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The warrant obtained on Friday by the CBI is addressed to the jail authorities since Kapoor is in judicial custody. As per procedure, upon receipt of the warrant, jail authorities will produce Kapoor in court where the CBI would seek his custody. Kapoor is also being investigated by the ED on charges of money laundering.

According to the FIRs filed by the CBI, YES Bank invested ₹3,700 crore in short-term debentures of DHFL between April and June 2018. In return, Kapoor was allegedly paid “kickbacks” amounting to ₹600 crore by DHFL promoter Kapil Wadhawan. DHFL sanctioned a loan to DoIT Urban Ventures (India) Pvt Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of RAB Enterprises in which Kapoor’s wife Bindu is a director and 100% shareholder, alleged the CBI. Kapoor’s daughters, Rakhee Kapoor Tandon, Roshni Kapoor and Radha Kapoor, are also 100% shareholders in DoIT Urban Ventures.

It is on the basis of the case registered by the CBI that the ED began its probe into allegations of money laundering by Kapoor. The CBI has also registered a second case against Kapoor, alleging he and his wife bought a bungalow from Avantha group promoter Gautam Thapar at a much lower price than its valuation. In the past, Thapar had mortgaged the bungalow for a corporate loan of ₹600 crore, but he sold it for ₹380 crore to Bliss Abode Pvt Ltd in which Kapoor’s wife was a director at the time.