Yes Bank Founder Rana Kapoor Arrested by ED in HDIL Group Case

Currently in jail in the DHFL case, Kapoor has been sent to ED custody till 30 January.

Yes Bank’s founder Rana Kapoor.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Yes Bank's former Chairman Rana Kapoor on Wednesday, 27 january, in an alleged money-laundering case pertaining to the probe in a HDIL group company, official sources said, according to IANS. He has been sent to ED custody till 30 January.

Currently in jail in the DHFL case, Kapoor had allegedly sanctioned a Rs 200-crore loan to Mack Star Marketing Pvt Ltd, a group company of the HDIL promoters Rakesh Wadhawan and Sarang Wadhawan.

The Wadhawans are charged with duping the Punjab & Maharashtra Cooperative Bank of around Rs 6,000 crore – a scam that erupted in September 2019, shaking banking and corporate circles.

In the latest case, Kapoor allegedly conspired to sanction the Rs 200-crore loan to Mack Star that was diverted to HDIL, which used it to repay its outstanding with Yes Bank.

The ED claimed that the intention was to siphon off the loan amounts and give a lifeline to HDIL’s group companies to settle their outstanding with Yes Bank to prevent them from become NPAs.

This is the second time Kapoor has been arrested in less than 10 months. Days before the pandemic lockdown in last March, he was nabbed by the ED for alleged kickbacks against sanctioning loans to companies of the DHFL and remains in jail till now.

HDIL's Rakesh Wadhawan and Sarang Wadhawan, who are also prime accused in the PMC Bank scam, held a stake in Mack Star which is under the ED scanner for the Rs 200-crore loan given by Yes Bank for renovating its premises.

In that case, with its tentacles spreading to the Viva Group of Palghar, the ED had arrested Mehul Thakur and another director Madan Chaturvedi, who are also in its custody till 30 January.

(This story has been published in an arrangement with IANS)