Yes Bank ‘loan fraud’: CBI tells court received sanction to prosecute Rana Kapoor

Last month, on a hearing before the court on taking cognizance of the chargesheet, the CBI had said that it had applied for prosecution sanction, mandatory for public servants, as per the anti-corruption Act.

On March 7, 2020, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered a corruption case against Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan, and Rana Kapoor, the then managing director and chief executive officer of Yes Bank. (Express File)

THE CENTRAL Bureau of Investigation (CBI) informed a special court that it had received sanction to prosecute Yes Bank founder, former Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Rana Kapoor under the Prevention of Corruption Act, in the alleged loan fraud case. The chargesheet was filed last month by the agency against the accused, including Kapoor, his wife Bindu, daughters Radha and Roshini, companies linked with them; Anil Ambani, the then chairman of the ADA Group; Reliance Commercial Finance Ltd (RCFL), Reliance Home Finance Limited (RHFL) and others on the complaint filed by Yes Bank Chief Vigilance Officer in 2022.

Last month, on a hearing before the court on taking cognizance of the chargesheet, the CBI had said that it had applied for prosecution sanction, mandatory for public servants, as per the anti-corruption Act. On November 14, the CBI filed a plea for submitting additional documents relied upon by it including sanction under Section 19 of the PC Act. Lawyers for Reliance Commercial Finance Limited filed a plea seeking access and inspection of the chargesheet and other documents before a hearing on the cognisance of the chargesheet. The court has asked the CBI to file a reply to the plea, which will be heard next month.

The complaint filed by Yes Bank Chief Vigilance Officer in 2022 alleged that the bank invested around Rs 2,045 crore in non-convertible debentures and commercial debts of M/s RCFL and Rs 2,965 crore in non-convertible debentures and commercial papers of RHFL in 2017 on the approval of Rana Kapoor despite Care Ratings placing ADA Group Financial Companies “under watch” in view of deteriorating financial standing and adverse market assessment.

Kapoor, who has been named in multiple cases, both by the CBI and the ED, is currently out on bail, with the trials in any of the cases yet to begin. The CBI has claimed in its current chargesheet that during the relevant period, it was a common practice at Yes Bank, for Kapoor to be the sole decision maker involving major corporate clients, without consulting key managerial persons. The accused have denied any wrongdoing.