The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached a Rs 127-crore flat of Yes Bank co-promoter Rana Kapoor in London in connection with a money laundering investigation against him and others, the central agency said on Friday. The agency issued a provisional order for attaching the property — Apartment1, 77 South Audley Street, London — under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
"The market value of the flat is 13.5 million pound (about Rs 127 crore). The property was purchased by Rana Kapoor in 2017 for 9.9 million pound (Rs 93 crore) in the name of DOIT Creations Jersey Limited and he is the beneficial owner," the ED said in a statement. It claimed that the agency obtained "information from a reliable source that Kapoor was trying to alienate this property in London and that he has hired a reputed property consultant." "Enquiries from open sources confirmed that this property has been listed for sale on several websites," it said.
The agency, as per procedure, will now approach their counterparts in the United Kingdom to execute the attachment order and will issue a proclamation that the asset cannot be sold or purchased as it has been seized under the criminal sections of the PMLA. The ED has earlier attached assets in the US, Dubai and Australia in a similar fashion as part of other investigations under the PMLA.
The ED had booked Kapoor, his family members and others under the PMLA after studying a CBI FIR that alleged that dubious multi-crore loans were given by Yes Bank to various entities in contravention of the law and in lieu of purported kickbacks given to the Kapoor family. The CBI FIR had stated that during April-June, 2018, Yes Bank Limited had invested Rs 3,700 crore in the short term debentures of DHFL.
"Simultaneously, Kapil Wadhawan of DHFL paid kickback of Rs 600 crore to Rana Kapoor and his family members in the garb of loan of Rs 600 crore (given by DHFL) to DOIT Urban Ventures (India) Pvt Ltd (Rana Kapoor group company)." "In addition to the above, Yes Bank Ltd had also sanctioned a loan of Rs 750 crore to RKW Developers, a group company of DHFL beneficially owned by Kapil Wadhawan, Dheeraj Wadhawan and their family members," the ED alleged. This loan of Rs 750 crore had been sanctioned to them for their Bandra Reclamation Project, Mumbai, but the entire amount was siphoned off by Kapil Wadhawan and Dheeraj Wadhawan through their shell companies, it said.
Rana Kapoor, Kapil Wadhawan and Dheeraj Wadhawan have been arrested by the ED in this case and they are in judicial custody at present. The agency had also filed charge sheets before a special court in Mumbai in this case.
The ED had earlier attached properties in this case and with this order, the total attachment in this probe stands at Rs 2,011 crore.
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