New Delhi: A company owned by Bindu Rana Kapoor, the wife of former Yes Bank CEO Rana Kapoor, Bliss Abode Private Limited, bought a house held by industrialist Gautam Thapar’s Avantha Realty Limited when Avantha had mortgaged the property with Yes Bank.
The transaction between the two firms, which is now being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), was done on September 15, 2017.
Documents filed with the Registrar of Companies show that on September 20, 2017, Yes Bank officially released the property to Avantha after the firm paid Rs 374 crore plus accrued interest to the firm. This was five days after the sale deed was signed between Kapoor’s firm and Thapar’s.
Sale Deed by The Wire on Scribd
Interestingly, other group firms like Avantha Holdings and Solaris Chemtech had also availed loans from Yes Bank on the same property.
In August 2016, Avantha had availed a Rs 400 crore loan from Yes Bank. A few days later, another Rs 810 crore of loan facility was extended to group firms Avantha Holdings and Solaris Chemical. It is not clear from the documents whether the remaining loans of Rs 810 crore were cleared or not.
NOC ASM property by The Wire on Scribd
Bindu Kapoor’s Bliss Abode bought the house for Rs 378 crore, which seems far below market price considering that the bank had extended Rs 1,200 crore of loans to Thapar’s company against the same property.
On Friday the CBI registered an FIR on the transaction done between the two firms and raided offices of the firms involved.
But this isn’t the only transaction which seems suspect.
Rana Kapoor has been arrested on charges of money laundering by the Enforcement Directorate worth Rs 4,300 crore.
Also read: Yes Bank Bailout: Six Questions that SBI’s Rescue Plan Raises
The ED claims that along with his family members he has laundered money through 78 shell companies. The agency says a firm controlled by his three daughters had also received Rs 600 crore loan from troubled reality firm Dewan Housing Finance Limited (DHFL). Dewan Housing had been loaned money by Yes Bank which eventually turned into bad debt.
Government agencies suspect that the loan to the firm controlled by his daughters was a quid pro quo for loans granted by Yes Bank. Kapoor has denied all charges and claims all transactions were clean and above board.
Bindu Rana Kapoor was a director in 42 firms including some that have been named in the CBI FIR. Other firms held by her three daughters – Rakhee, Roshni and Radha Kapoor – are also being probed for money laundering and receiving kickbacks for granting loans to ineligible firms, say investigating authorities.