Mumbai, March 11 (SocialNews.XYZ) A Special PMLA Court extended Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor's custody with Enforcement Directorate by five days till March 16 even as the probe agency widened its scope of investigations on Wednesday.
Kapoor was produced before the Special Court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act this evening by the ED after his three-day remand ended today.
He was arrested here early morning of March 8 by the ED while the Central Bureau of Investigation has lodged a separate case against him.
Accepting the ED's contentions that Kapoor's further custodial interrogation was necessary, Special Judge P.P. Rajvaidya granted a five-day extention.
The ED lawyers informed the Special Court that it is conducting a detailed probe into all the loans sanctioned during Kapoor's tenure as the Managing Director & CEO of the now crisis-hit private lender.
It contended that Kapoor had extended loans to the tune of Rs 30,000 crore during his stewardship of Yes Bank.
"Out of this, nearly Rs 20,000 crore have turned into bad debts and we need to examine the money trail," the ED lawyers said.
Kapoor, 62, who had tearfully denied any wrongdoing last Sunday, said not a single allegation has been leveled against him so far.
"Till 2018, I was awarded every year I was chairman of ASSOCHAM and received national and international awards. Various state governments and the Centre have also given me awards," Kapoor said.
Among other things, Kapoor has been accused of prima facie involvement in generating Rs 4,300 crore black money and "laundering" the amount. Kapoor and his associates are accused are acquiring, concealing and projecting the money as "untainted".
This included a Rs 3,700 crore investment in short-term debentures of Dewan Housing Finance Ltd. and alleged kickbacks of Rs 600 crore to Kapoor's family-owned enterprise DoIt Urban Ventures India Pvt. Ltd (DUVIPL).
Kapoor was nabbed after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) last week imposed a moratorium on withdrawals from the bank on March 5, citing serious governance issues, weak regulatory compliance, wrong asset classification and risky credit decisions.
The ED arrested Kapoor late night of March 6, bours before the CBI lodged a first information report on March 7 and launched its parallel probe.
The ED has reportedly found details of Kapoor's assets in USA, France and the UK which are being probed to ascertain if the proceeds of the money-laundering were pumped into their purchases.
After the RBI's action last week, it superseded the Yes Bank's board and placed a stringent withdrawal limit of Rs 50,000 per depositor, resulting in a hue and cry among its customers around the country.
Later, last Friday, the RBI also announced a draft proposal for the reconstruction of Yes Bank in which the State Bank of India and certain other entities have expressed interest.
Source: IANS
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