YES Bank case: ED summons Anil Ambani, Subhash Chandra and Naresh Goyal

The agency also calls Subhash Chandra, Naresh Goyal, Kapil Wadhawan, and Peter Kerkar in money laundering probe

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued summons to a clutch of borrowers of YES Bank, including Essel group Chairman Subhash Chandra, Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal, Cox & Kings promoter Peter Kerkar, Dewan Housing Finance promoter Kapil Wadhawan, and a few more in connection with the money laundering probe against YES Bank co-founder Rana Kapoor.

Besides, the federal agency has issued fresh summons to Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani asking him to appear on Thursday. 

Ambani was summoned on Monday for questioning related to the stressed loans that were sanctioned to ADAG group during Kapoor’s tenure. But he has filed adjournment application with the ED seeking more time.

An ED official said it was examining all the big borrowers of YES Bank and that is why each of the borrower had been asked to join the probe this week. 

Sources said ED wanted to deep dive into all the accounts which had defaulted and the loans had turned into bad debts. The agency will record the statement of the management and promoters of all the stressed firms and will make it part of the prosecution complaint, the source said.

Other than the bad debt accounts, the probe agency is verifying the rationale behind Kapoor keeping some of his realty assets on mortgage with some housing finance firms. “These properties that were kept on mortgage were actually the illegal gratification, which Kapoor has received on advancing loans to entities without due diligence and were not in line with the Banking Regulation Act,” an ED official said. 

“We asked all the borrowers to provide documents related to their loan agreement with YES Bank, their personal and firms’ tax filing, terms and conditions, collaterals again which loans were disbursed and side agreements, if any,” the official added. 

The agnency has also called several other business leaders.

Some of the big defaulters to whom the private lender had advanced funds include Vodafone Idea, DHFL, Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services, Essel Group, CG Power, Cox & Kings, and Radius Developers. 

An Essel group statement said Subhash Chandra, who has been called on March 18, would extend support and co-operation requested by the ED. It added that most of the credit facilities were fully secured and were availed for its infrastructure business and not in the media firms. 

The statement also said the group had never made any transactions with Rana Kapoor, his family, or any private entities controlled by them.

JPMorgan estimates its stressed book at Rs 45,000 crore, including the ADAG group, which is among the largest borrowers from the bank, with an exposure of around Rs 14,000 crore, followed by Essel group and DHFL. 

The ED is investigating loans of over Rs 20,000 crore from the point of view of irregularities, quid pro quo, and diversion by Kapoor, who is in ED custody till March 20.