ED questions Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor for second day; expands raids

The Enforcement Directorate questioned Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor for the second day on Saturday in connection with a money laundering probe against him and others and raided some more locations in Delhi and Mumbai, officials said.

They said Kapoor was brought to the agency's office in Ballard Estate area after noon.

He has been questioned for over seven hours and his statement recorded by the agency under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the officials said.

The premises of Kapoor's three daughters in Delhi and Mumbai were also searched on Saturday to gather more information and evidence, they added.

The ED had searched Rana's residence in the upscale 'Samudra Mahal' building in the Worli area on Friday night and grilled him there too.

The questioning of Kapoor is continuing, the officials said.

The case against Kapoor is linked to the scam-hit Dewan Housing Finance Corporation (DHFL) as the loans given by the bank to the company allegedly turned non-performing assets (NPAs), they said.

A Rs 600-crore worth loan extended by the DHFL to an entity is also at the centre of the ED probe, they added.

Action against Kapoor is being conducted under the PMLA.

According to the officials, the central agency is also probing the Yes Bank founder's role in connection with the disbursal of loans to some corporate entities and the subsequent alleged kickbacks reportedly received in his wife's accounts.

Other alleged irregularities are also under the agency's scanner, including the one related to the alleged Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) fraud in Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL), they said.

The CBI recently took over the investigation into the Rs 2,267-crore EPF fraud in Uttar Pradesh, where hard-earned savings of power sector employees were invested in DHFL.

The ED action came after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday imposed a moratorium on the capital-starved Yes Bank, capping withdrawals at Rs 50,000 per account, and superseded the board of the private sector lender with immediate effect.

Yes Bank will not be able to grant or renew any loan or advance, make any investment, incur any liability or agree to disburse any payment.

As per the RBI's draft reconstruction scheme, State Bank of India will pick up 49 per cent stake in the crisis-ridden Yes Bank under a government-approved bailout plan.