CBI arrests DHFL promoters Kapil, Dheeraj Wadhawan in Yes Bank scam

The CBI on Sunday arrested DHFL promoter Kapil Wadhawan and RKW Developers promoter Dheeraj Wadhawan from a Mahabaleshwar-based quarantine facility, nearly 50 days after booking them in a case of bribery against former Yes Bank CEO Rana Kapoor, officials said.

They were arrested with the cooperation of district authorities of Satara on the strength of Non-bailable Warrant of Arrest issued by the Court of Special Judge, CBI Cases, City Sessions Court, Mumbai, CBI spokesperson R K Gaur said here.

The two will be produced before the Special CBI Court at Mumbai, he said. Wadhawan brothers are named as accused in the CBI FIR pertaining to swindling of money by Kapoor and others, the officials said.

"Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan were absconding since beginning of the investigation and evaded joining investigation," Gaur said.

The agency had procured non-bailable warrants against them from the court on March 17 yet they did not appear before the CBI or the court, he said.

They were held by the Satara police earlier this month while allegedly violating prohibitory orders related to lockdown when a carcade carrying Wadhawan family members was stopped at Panchgani in Maharashtra.

They were kept at a quarantine facility in Mahabaleshwar by the district administration, they said.

The CBI had written to the Satara district administration to not release the duo without a No Objection Certificate from it, they said.

"On the prayer of accused persons, the Court vide order dated April 18, 2020 had stayed the execution of NBW till May 05, 2020, which has been vacated by the Court on April 25, 2020 on the prayer of CBI," Gaur said.

Once the stay was cleared, the CBI team reached the Mahabaleshwar quarantine facility where the two were taken into custody.

The agency has alleged that Kapoor, 62, entered into a criminal conspiracy with Wadhawan for extending financial assistance to DHFL through Yes Bank in return for substantial undue benefits to himself and his family members through companies held by them, they said.

According to the CBI FIR, the scam started taking shape between April to June, 2018 when Yes Bank invested Rs 3,700 crore in short-term debentures of the scam-hit Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Ltd (DHFL).

In return, Wadhawan allegedly "paid kickback of Rs 600 crore" to Kapoor and family members in the form of loans to DoIT Urban Ventures (India) Pvt Ltd held by the wife and daughters of Kapoor, they said.

DHFL is already facing a separate probe for allegedly siphoning off Rs 31,000 crore out of the total bank loans of Rs 97,000 crore using shell companies.