MUMBAI: Bombay high court on Monday rejected Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor’s plea for liberty in a money-laundering case being investigated by Enforcement Directorate (ED). The agency said it apprehended that he would sell off his properties once released, frustrating the ongoing probe.
Kapoor, claiming “innocence’’, argued that bail was the norm that cannot be denied on the grounds that investigations are on.
Justice P D Naik pronounced the rejection of Kapoor’s bail application.
Kapoor’s bail plea, filed through advocate Subhash, said no case of laundering was made out against the bank’s founder.
Kapoor was arrested on March 8, 2020 and is in Taloja jail.
ED said Kapoor conspired with Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan of Dewan Housing and Finance Ltd (DHFL) to illegally sanction loans and “received kickbacks” in a case where “proceeds of crime involved is to the extent of Rs 5,050 crore”.
The Wadhawan brothers, Dheeraj (42) and Kapil (46), were arrested last April.
Kapoor’s bail petition said “Rs 600 crore was not a kickback” nor proceeds of crime but a “genuine loan”. But ED, through counsel Hiten Venegaonkar, refuted Kapoor’s contention, saying DUVPL was a “beneficially owned by Rana Kapoor through three daughters’’.