ED arrests HDIL founder Rana Kapoor
MUMBAI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday arrested Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor in connection with a money laundering case pertaining to the sanction of a loan of ₹200 crore to Mack Star Marketing Private Limited, owned by Housing Development Infrastructure Limited (HDIL) promoters Rakesh Wadhawan and Sarang Wadhawan.
HDIL’S promoters are accused of unlawfully availing loans from Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank and defrauding it of ₹6,670 crore.
Sources said this is the third money laundering case involving Kapoor which ED is probing.
Kapoor was produced in a Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court and remanded in ED’S custody till January 30.
ED sources said that during Kapoor’s tenure, Yes Bank sanctioned loans to Mack Star Marketing in an unruly manner. HDIL then utilised this money to clear other loans it had taken from Yes Bank, to ensure that it was not declared as a defaulter. ED suspects that Kapoor was fully aware of the illegal activity and wish to interrogate him regarding the same.
In the same case, the central anti-money laundering agency had last week arrested Mehul Thakur, managing director of realty firm Viva Group, owned by the Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA) chief Hitendra Thakur’s family. BVA is a supporter of the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.
Earlier, ED had stated that the Wadhawans and others allegedly diverted ₹200 crore sanctioned by Yes Bank to Mack Star Marketing Pvt Ltd. This loan was allegedly siphoned off by the Wadhawans by showing a fictitious purpose.