Rana Kapoor, family set up over 20 shell companies for kickbacks: ED probe

YES Bank co-founder Rana Kapoor and his family set up more than 20 shell companies that were allegedly used for receiving kickbacks and investing in properties illegally, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has found.

The ED arrested Kapoor, 62, early Sunday morning in connection with a money-laundering probe against him and others, three days after India's central bank put YES Bank under a 30-day moratorium and superseded the private lender's board.

Kapoor had set up shell companies, which were directly or indirectly controlled by him, his wife and three daughters, said ED officials.

The shell companies allegedly received kickbacks from corporate entities that took loans from YES Bank. Dewan Housing Finance ( DHFL), the bankrupt home lender, is alleged to have given Rs 600 crore to the Kapoor family's business as it defaulted on Rs 3,700-crore loans from the private lender.

The ED investigation found these companies allegedly invested in properties valued at Rs 2,000 crore. The current market value could be over Rs 5,000 crore, said an official privy to the probe. ED is understood to have documents that show Kapoor bought two properties in the UK.

Separately, the Central Bureau of Investigation ( CBI) is preparing its own probe into YES Bank's collapse and is in touch with the finance ministry and Reserve Bank of India.

Sources said the CBI could either initiate a preliminary enquiry or go ahead and directly file a case against Kapoor. The YES Bank matter was taken up by the CBI director with senior officials, including those part of the BS&FC unit (specialised unit which looks into bank fraud case) on Saturday.