ED questions Yes Bank co-founder Rana Kapoor in Anil Ambani group probe

The Enforcement Directorate questioned Yes Bank co-founder Rana Kapoor in connection with a money laundering probe involving Reliance Anil Ambani Group companies, suspecting a quid pro quo linked to high-value bank exposure and investments that later turned non-performing

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate on Monday questioned Yes Bank co-founder Rana Kapoor as part of a money laundering investigation against Reliance Anil Ambani group companies, officials said.

His statement was recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), they said. Kapoor, 68, was arrested and questioned by the ED earlier in separate money laundering cases linked to the alleged illegal disbursal of loans by the lender (Yes Bank) he helmed.

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ED officials said they suspect a quid pro quo between Kapoor and Ambani in this case. There was no immediate comment from Kapoor or his lawyers on the ED questioning and related charges.

Yes Bank, according to the officials, had an exposure of about Rs 6,000 crore to Reliance Anil Ambani Group (ADAG Group) as on March 31, 2017, and this figure doubled to Rs 13,000 crore within a year (as on March 31, 2018).

The companies under probe are Reliance Home Finance Limited (RHFL) and Reliance Commercial Finance Limited (RCFL). A “large” portion of these investments turned into non-performing investments (NPI), and the bank, subsequently, suffered a loss of Rs 3,300 crore from these dealings, officials alleged.

These were not standard business transactions but a “quid pro quo” in exchange for Yes Bank’s investments. ADAG companies “granted” loans to firms controlled by Kapoor’s family, they said.

The ED suspects the two businessmen held “private” meetings regarding these deals. The probe is related to the 2017-2019 period, when Yes Bank allegedly invested Rs 2,965 crore in RHFL instruments and Rs 2,045 crore in RCFL.

By December 2019, these had become non-performing investments, the agency claimed earlier. The outstanding was Rs 1,353.5 crore for RHFL and Rs 1,984 crore for RCFL, and the probe found that the two companies received public funds to the tune of over Rs 11,000 crore, according to the ED.

Ambani, 66, has been questioned by the ED in the past in relation to the alleged bank loan “irregularities” of his group companies. Reliance Group companies have repeatedly said Ambani was not involved in the day-to-day management of the group.

ED recently attached assets worth Rs 1,120 crore belonging to certain Anil Ambani Group companies.