ED questions Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor days after attaching Reliance Anil Ambani Group assets 

According to the ED, the agency detected fraudulent diversion of public money by various Reliance Anil Ambani Group companies, including Reliance Communications Ltd (RCOM), RHFL, RCFL, RIL and Reliance Power Ltd.

“During 2017–2019, Yes Bank invested Rs 2,965 crore in RHFL instruments and Rs 2,045 crore in RCFL instruments. By December 2019, these became non-performing investments. The outstanding was Rs 1,353.50 crore for RHFL and Rs 1,984 crore for RCFL,” an ED spokesperson said.

“Investigation in the case of RHFL and RCFL revealed that RHFL and RCFL received public funds of more than Rs 11,000 crore. Before Yes Bank invested this money in Reliance Anil Ambani group companies, Yes Bank had received huge funds from the erstwhile Reliance Nippon Mutual Fund. As per SEBI regulations, Reliance Nippon Mutual Fund could not invest/divert funds directly in Anil Ambani group finance companies due to conflict-of-interest rules,” the statement said.

A query in this regard has been sent to Anil Ambani’s spokesperson, and a reply is awaited.

A source in ED said the probe has revealed that Rana Kapoor and Anil Ambani entered into a “quid pro quo” arrangement that resulted in significant losses for Yes Bank.

“While Rana Kapoor was at the helm of Yes Bank, Yes Bank had significant exposure of about Rs 6,000 crore to Reliance Anil Ambani Group (ADAG Group) as on March 31, 2017, and exposure doubled to Rs 13,000 crore as on March 31, 2018. During this time, the bank invested over Rs 5,000 crore in RHFL and RCFL, which were ADAG Group companies,” the source said.

“Public money in mutual fund schemes was routed indirectly by them. The path ran through Yes Bank’s exposures. The public funds reached Anil Ambani group companies through a circuitous route,” the spokesperson had said-