Yes Bank scam case: ED arrests Avantha Group promoter Gautam Thapar; to seek custody

In a fresh development in the Yes Bank scam case, the ED arrested Avantha Group promoter Gautam Thapar on Tuesday night under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. This was preceded by raids carried out at 14 locations in Delhi and Mumbai in pursuance of a money laundering case filed by the ED. After taking cognizance of an FIR registered by the CBI in March 2020, the ED started investigating an alleged property transaction between the industrialist's company Avantha Realty Limited, Yes Bank co-founder Rana Kapoor and his wife Bindu.

Essentially, the central agency has alleged that Kapoor and his wife obtained illegal gratification of Rs.307 crore through the purchase of a 1.2 acre-bungalow on Amrita Shergill Marg bungalow in Delhi from Avantha Realty Limited at half its market price. In return, the Yes Bank co-founder has been accused of facilitating bank loans worth nearly Rs.1900 crore to this reality firm. Thapar will be produced before a court on Wednesday where the ED is likely to seek his custody. The industrialist is also accused in another CBI case of causing a purported loss of Rs.466.51 crore to Yes Bank. 

Gautam Thapar would be represented by Advocate Vijay Aggarwal who briefed by the team from Karanjawala & Co., led by  Sandeep Kapur, Senior Partner and comprising of Veer Sandhu, Rajat Soni, Niharika Karanjawala-Misra, Apoorva Pandey and Abhimanshu Dhyani.

The federal agency registered Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) against Thapar, M/s. Avantha Realty Ltd., M/s. Oyster Buildwell Pvt. Ltd. and others under the charges of alleged criminal breach of trust, cheating, criminal conspiracy and forgery. The accused persons are booked for diversion/misappropriation of public money during the period 2017 to 2019, thereby causing losses to the tune of Rs. 466.51 Crores to Yes Bank. 

Allegations against Rana Kapoor

Rana Kapoor was arrested by the ED on March 8, 2020, after 30 hours of questioning. The ED has alleged that Kapoor misused his position as the Chief Executive Officer of Yes Bank to benefit his daughters' companies. According to the agency, loans worth Rs.30,000 crore were given by Yes Bank when he was at the helm of affairs. Out of these, advances of Rs. 20,000 crore became NPAs (non-performing assets).

The ED maintained Rana Kapoor's family members were associated with 78 companies that were allegedly used for the movement of money. On the other hand, Kapoor's counsel has highlighted his client's contribution to the bank, including the awards which he received. Furthermore, it was stressed that Kapoor's family members never defaulted on any of the loans granted. 

After the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Yes Bank co-founder moved a bail application citing a threat to his life. The plea mentioned that the Yes Bank founder's existing medical conditions such as bronchial asthma, chronic immunodeficiency syndrome, severe hypertension, depression put him at a high risk of a lung infection if he contracted COVID-19 in jail. Moreover, it was argued that Kapoor needed to stay at home and get home-cooked food. But, he continues to languish in jail as this plea and subsequent applications were rejected.