SC rejects YES Bank founder Rana Kapoor's bail in money laundering case

Rana Kapoor has been in jail since March 2020 in connection with the DHFL money laundering case

The Supreme Court (SC) on Friday rejected bail plea of YES Bank's founder Rana Kapoor in connection with a money laundering case, saying the case had "rocked the entire banking system".

The court also questioned why the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is taking so long to investigate the Rs 3,642-crore YES Bank scam.

"This case rocked the Indian banking system. YES Bank went into difficulty and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had to step in to protect investors," Justice Sanjiv Khanna stated.

"You have to take cases on priority where there are heavy stakes and a large number of persons involved. There is something wrong if the ED investigation is taking so long," he added.

In response, the Additional Solicitor General (ASG) said, "There are hundreds of shell companies. The investigation is taking a long time because we are trying to get information from foreign countries."

Meanwhile, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Rana Kapoor, told the court, "The bank was put in difficulty but that's no reason to keep a man behind bars indefinitely. He's been behind bars since March 8, 2020. He has been incarcerated for over three years and has undergone more than the minimum sentence possible."

"Once they get bail, the trial will never end," the Supreme Court said. The ASG then informed the court that it is a complicated investigation.

When the court stated that it saw no need to intervene in the case, Abhishek Singhvi said that this is a never-ending investigation and that the PMLA court is overburdened.

Singhvi further said there was no loss of public funds and that Rana Kapoor demitted office in 2019.

After the apex court refused to entertain the bail plea, Kapoor withdrew it.

Kapoor has been imprisoned since March 2020 in connection with the DHFL money laundering case.

The case relates to mis-selling of the bank's AT1 (Additional Tier-1) bonds to retail investors by the bank's officials. It was alleged that the bank and certain executives did not inform investors of the risk involved while selling the AT-1 bonds in the secondary market. The sale of AT1 bonds began in 2016 and continued till 2019.