Mumbai: A special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court has denied bail to Yes Bank founder and its former MD and CEO Rana Kapoor in the Enforcement Directorate (ED) case against him.
Kapoor had been represented by senior counsel Abad Ponda and advocate Subhash Jadhav who had argued that the investigation in the case is over and chargesheet as well as supplementary chargesheet are filed. They also argued that Kapoor’s passport was in custody and that he has been over 120 days in prison and at the age of 62, he is sick and infirm and deserves to be released on bail as the PMLA allows for it in such conditions.
Appearing for the ED, advocates Sunil Gonsalves and Hiten Venegaonkar opposed the plea telling the court that Kapoor had entered into a criminal conspiracy which had caused a huge loss to Yes Bank. They had further argued that unlike other crimes, economic crimes need to be viewed utmost seriously as they are committed with planning and are deep-rooted.
In early April, another court had rejected his temporary bail plea in which Kapoor had said that he has immunodeficiency syndrome and a history of bronchial asthma which puts him at high risk of severe lung infection which can be fatal. The court had observed that Kapoor’s medical report called from Taloja jail stated that he was not suffering from any diseases which are dangerous to his life. The court had also said that the jail authorities are able to look after the COVID-19 emergency.
Rana Kapoor has been accused in the Yes bank fraud case, wherein the Enforcement Directorate alleges that he received kickbacks of Rs. 600 crores through family-owned companies from DHFL after Yes Bank made an investment of Rs. 3,700 crores in the firm.
