Mumbai court extends Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor's ED custody till March 16

MUMBAI: A Mumbai court on Wednesday (March 11, 2020) extended troubled private sector lender Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor's Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody till March 16.

Kapoor was arrested by the ED on Sunday after hours-long questioning in Mumbai and was remanded to the agency`s custody till March 11 by a PMLA court.

The agency had sought further custody of Kapoor for questioning in connection with several allegations of financial misconduct against him. 

The ED, as well as the CBI, have registered separate cases against Rana Kapoor, his wife, their three daughters - Rakhee Kapoor Tandon, Roshni Kapoor and Radha Kapoor - and Dewan Housing Finance Ltd (DHFL) promoter Kapil Wadhwan for hatching a criminal conspiracy from April to June 2018 between for extending financial assistance to DHFL by Yes Bank Ltd. 

It is alleged that the Kapoors were paid kickbacks of Rs 600 crore for extending financial assistance to DHFL by Yes Bank Ltd. 

Kapoor was arrested by the ED on Sunday after hours-long questioning in Mumbai and was been sent by a Mumbai court in the agency`s custody till March 11.

It may be noted that three of Kapoor's Delhi-based properties amounting over Rs 1,000 crore are under the ED scanner and th agency plans to sell them.

The three properties -- 40, Amrita Shergill Marg; 18 Kautilya Marg, Chanakya Puri; and in the Diplomatic Enclave on Sardar Patel Marg -- are not directly linked to Kapoor but officials said that he had tasked some top property dealers here for hunting some buyers to sell these assets to.

It is learnt that all the properties are linked to Kapoor`s wife Bindu Kapoor, who is also under the scanner as ED probes suspicious transactions of around Rs 4,300 crore.

Bindu Kapoor bought a luxurious bungalow at 40, Amrita Shergill Marg - a prime location in Lutyens` Delhi - in the name of her company Bliss Abode Ltd while the other two properties belong to Bliss Villa (Delhi) Private Ltd.

Known for a flamboyant lifestyle and penchant for publicity, Kapoor, sources said, wanted to shift his base in the US, the UK or France by selling properties in Delhi and Mumbai soon after he got a tip-off about ED`s investigation against him.

It is suspected that he did not want to leave any of his property in India before shifting his base, said the source, adding the ED has begun probing his three prime properties in Delhi which have a value of more than Rs 1,000 crore.

The source said that the property at Amrita Shergill Marg was bought from Avantha Realty, Gautam Thapar`s company which had borrowed money from Yes Bank.

According to sources, Kapoor`s wife had bought this property in the name of her company Bliss Abode Ltd on account of a loan default by Avantha Realty. Yes Bank`s exposure to Avantha Realty was Rs 500 crore.

Bliss Abode Pvt Ltd had bought this property by raising Rs 380 crore from a Mumbai- based non-banking financial company. The address of Bliss Abode is also the same as the property bought.

Yes Bank allegedly, instead of going for a procedure under the RBI`s suggested guidelines to recover the loan, sold the property for a bare minimum price of Rs 380 crore to Bliss Abode Pvt Ltd. Amrita Shergill Marg is one of the most prime areas of Delhi and sources said that the property was priced at around Rs 450 crore.

The Chanakya Puri property is in the name of Bliss Villa (Delhi) Pvt Ltd which was incorporated on September 9, 1971. It is classified as a non-government company and is registered at the Registrar of Companies, Delhi. 

Its authorised share capital is Rs 20,000,000 and its paid-up capital is Rs. 18,374,800. The Directors of Bliss Villa (Delhi) Private Limited are Bindu Kapoor, and Ajita Madhukar Potdar. The third property in Diplomatic Enclave on Sardar Patel Marg is also a prime property linked to Rana but more information about the property could not be gathered.

It is learnt that the selling price of the Chanakya Puri and Sardar Patel property was fixed Rs 350 crore and Rs 250 crore, respectively.

The ED has not only started its probe into these three Delhi-based properties but also another property in Mumbai which was bought by Rana`s family on tony Altamount Road in Mumbai in 2018 for Rs 128 crore.

Jointly owned by Citibank and GlaxoSmithKline, the property is next to Mukesh Ambani`s 27-storey Antilla.

(With Agency inputs)