Kapoor had earlier been arrested and questioned by the central financial probe agency in separate money-laundering cases linked to the alleged irregular disbursal of loans by Yes Bank during his tenure.
Yes Bank co-founder Rana Kapoor
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday questioned Yes Bank co-founder Rana Kapoor in connection with a money-laundering probe involving companies of the Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group. His statement was recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Kapoor had earlier been arrested and questioned by the central financial probe agency in separate money-laundering cases linked to the alleged irregular disbursal of loans by Yes Bank during his tenure. In the present case, officials suspect a quid pro quo arrangement between Kapoor and Anil Ambani.
According to officials, Yes Bank had an exposure of around ₹6,000 crore to Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) companies as of March 31, 2017, which nearly doubled to about ₹13,000 crore by March 31, 2018.
The companies under investigation include Reliance Home Finance Limited (RHFL) and Reliance Commercial Finance Limited (RCFL).
Officials alleged that a large portion of these investments later turned into non-performing investments (NPIs), resulting in losses of about ₹3,300 crore to the bank. The transactions, they claimed, were not standard business deals but involved a quid pro quo, with ADAG companies allegedly granting loans to firms controlled by Kapoor’s family in return for Yes Bank’s investments.
The ED also suspects that Kapoor and Ambani held private meetings in connection with these transactions.
The probe pertains to the 2017–2019 period, during which Yes Bank allegedly invested ₹2,965 crore in RHFL instruments and ₹2,045 crore in RCFL. By December 2019, these investments had turned into NPIs, the agency has claimed earlier.
According to the ED, the outstanding amounts stood at ₹1,353.5 crore for RHFL and ₹1,984 crore for RCFL, and the probe found that the two companies had received public funds amounting to over ₹11,000 crore.
Anil Ambani, 66, has been questioned by the ED in the past in connection with alleged bank loan irregularities involving his group companies. The Reliance Group has consistently maintained that Ambani was not involved in the day-to-day management of the companies.
Recently, the ED attached assets worth ₹1,120 crore belonging to certain Anil Ambani Group companies.
( Source : Deccan Chronicle )
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