His bail application claimed that the allegations in the CBI’s charge sheet did not reveal his role in the wrongdoing. The chargesheet contained “vague” allegations against Kapoor, argued his lawyer Aabad Ponda along with advocate Rahul Agarwal.
Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor was released from jail on 20th April, after being granted bail by a court in an alleged loan fraud case. Kapoor was first arrested in March 2020 in a money laundering case by the Enforcement Directorate. The ED and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) have registered a total of eight cases against him related to alleged frauds at Yes Bank.
He was lodged at the Taloja jail which is near to Navi Mumbai. The trials in these cases haven’t started yet. He has already received bail in seven cases earlier.
Rana Kapoor’s Bail
M G Deshpande, special judge for CBI cases, granted bail to Kapoor earlier. Nothing in the trial in the present case was pending, and his incarnation was also no longer required, leading to his release from prison.
The property belonging to Avantha Realty Ltd (ARL) was already mortgaged for a loan taken by the company from Yes Bank. It was purchased for Rs 378 crore — against the market value of Rs 685 crore — by Bliss Abode Private Limited, run by Rana Kapoor’s wife Bindu Kapoor, in 2017.
Charges Against Yes Bank’s Rana Kapoor
The CBI had alleged that Kapoor,as a MD & CEO of Yes Bank Limited (YBL), obtained “illegal gratification” (bribe) in the form of a property located at a prime location in Delhi at a price much less than its market value for sanctioning a loan.
Kapoor, as MD and CEO of YBL, was the head of the Management Credit Committee (MCC) of the bank which approved the loan.
Yes Bank, which had already extended credit facilities of Rs 2500 crore to various Avantha Group companies, granted another loan of Rs 400 crore to ARL as part of the quid pro quo deal, the agency claimed.
Rana Kapoor On Allegations
His bail application claimed that the allegations in the CBI’s charge sheet did not reveal his role in the wrongdoing. The chargesheet contained “vague” allegations against Kapoor, argued his lawyer Aabad Ponda along with advocate Rahul Agarwal.
Kapoor was never the sole or final approving authority of the loan transaction, and the entire MCC had collectively approved the loan, the lawyers said.
Co-accused in the case including Avantha group promoter Gautam Thapar were out on bail, and Thapar was granted bail without being arrested, the application argued.
(With Inputs From PTI)