PMLA Court Grants Bail To Yes Bank Founder Rana Kapoor, Bindu Kapoor And Gautam Thapar

Special judge MG Deshpande, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), granted bail to them for Rs 5 lakh and surety for the like amount and set conditions like not to leave the country and to attend the court on all the dates.

The case pertains to sale of a property situated on Amrita Shergil Marg in Delhi to a company owned by Rana Kapoor's wife, Bindu Kapoor, for which a separate FIR had been registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in Mumbai last year. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed a money laundering case against Rana Kapoor, Bindu Kapoor, Gautam Thapar and seven others based on the CBI FIR.

According to the FIR Rana Kapoor, then MD and CEO of Yes Bank, obtained illegal gratification in the form of a property belonging to Avantha Realty Ltd (ARL) in a prime location in Delhi at much lower price than what the property would have fetched in return to loans to Thapar's firm as well as concessions in existing credit facilities by the lender. According to ED Rana Kapoor allegedly connived with ARL to wrongfully gain or get the property transferred to a firm named Bliss Abode, owned by his wife Bindu Kapoor.

ED probe alleged that Kapoor created a monthly lease-rent agreement between the two group companies of Avantha and got a loan of Rs 400 crore sanctioned from Yes bank by getting that very property mortgaged to the bank.

The loan accounts were later shown as stressed and the property was put up for sale by the bank. When the account of ARL group company was on the verge of turning into NPA, Bliss Abode offered Rs 378 crore for acquiring the said property, ED probe further alleged, though the property had been valued at Rs 550 crore.

The special court took cognisance of the ED charge sheet in December last year and sought presence of the accused after which they appeared before the court on Wednesday and sought bail.

Advocate Vijay Aggarwal, appearing for Kapoor, submitted that he was never arrested in the case and had fully co-operated with the agency in their probe. He added that the agency had examined him, recorded his statement and he was ready to abide by any condition imposed by the court.

He also argued that the alleged proceeds of crime had already been secured since the ED had provisionally attached the property and therefore, there was no question of fleeing from justice. After which the court granted bail to the accused.

While Rana Kapoor is in judicial custody since his arrest in the Yes Bank scam in March 2020 and is currently lodged Taloja jail in neighbouring Navi Mumbai, Thapar is in judicial custody in Delhi's Tihar jail following his arrest in August last year in a related case