A special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court rejected the bail plea filed by Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor, who is currently lodged at the Taloja Central Jail.
Special judge P.P. Rajvaidya rejected the plea sought on merits of the case. Mr. Kapoor was arrested on March 8 by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for disbursing loans to various firms for pecuniary gains. The agency is now investigating debentures and loans to the tune of ₹5,402.1 crore that Yes Bank had given to the Dewan Housing Finance Limited (DHFL), its group companies and the Sumer Group.
Advocate Subhash Jadhav, appearing for Mr. Rana, argued that all the evidence in the case is documentary and his custody is no longer required. He also said Mr. Rana will not tamper with the evidence and that there is no risk of him leaving the country as his passport is with the authorities.
The plea was opposed by ED’s counsel Hiten Venegavkar, who said Mr. Rana conspired with Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan of the DHFL and siphoned off ₹5,050 crores from Yes Bank, and received kickbacks worth ₹600 crores in investing ₹2,700 crores of debentures in DHFL. He also said Mr. Kapoor sanctioned ₹750 crores for the Bandra reclamation project without verifying the details of the Wadhawan brothers’ financial capacity.
Mr. Kapoor was sent to judicial custody on March 20 after ED told the court that the agency had found 19 new companies linked to Mr. Kapoor and his family, that they suspect could have been used for laundering money.
On April 3, his interim medical bail was rejected. It was sought on grounds of him suffering from various ailments, including recurring lung, sinus and skin infection, and severe hypertension, anxiety and depression since the last 18 months, which was being treated in the presence of his family.
He had also cited the spread the COVID-19 and said that since the illness directly affects the lungs, it could cause a severe lung infection, which could prove fatal considering his age, low immunity and long-standing respiratory problems.