Yes Bank Fraud: ED Arrests Avantha Group Promoter Gautam Thapar For Money Laundering

An alleged transaction has raised suspicion among authorities which took place between his company Avantha Realty, Yes Bank co-founder Rana Kapoor and his wife.

After the Central Bureau of Investigation filed a first information report (FIR) against Avantha Realty Ltd last year, its promoter, the Enforcement Directorate has arrested its promoter Gautam Thapar in connection with a money laundering case.

The FIR was filed against Thapar and others for allegedly cheating Yes Bank to the tune of over Rs 466 crore during 2017-’19.

The agency carried out raids against him and his linked businesses in Delhi and Mumbai after which the arrest was made on Tuesday night under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), said officials.

He is expected to be produced before the court on Wednesday where the ED will seek his custody. The alleged transaction has raised doubts among authorities which took place between his company Avantha Realty, Yes Bank co-founder Rana Kapoor and his wife, who are already being investigated under the PMLA by the agency.

The case of money laundering was filed by the ED after taking cognizance of an FIR lodged by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

What are the allegations?

"The (CBI) FIR alleges that Rana Kapoor, then MD and CEO of Yes Bank Limited, obtained illegal gratification in the form of a property in a prime location in Delhi at much less than the realisable market value belonging to Avantha Reality Ltd for sanction of a loan to ARL and for extending concessions, relaxations, and waivers in the already existing credit facilities provided to Avantha Group companies and for advancing new and additional loans to them by Yes Bank Ltd," the ED had said earlier.

Last year, the CBI booked Kapoor and his wife Bindu for allegedly obtaining a bribe of Rs 307 crore in a bid to purchase a bungalow in a plush area in Delhi from a realty firm at almost half the market price while enabling around Rs 1,900 crore bank loans to it in return, as per PTI.

The discounted deal for the 1.2 acre-bungalow on Amrita Shergill Marg in Delhi is being suspected as a gratification to Kapoor through the company Bliss Abode Pvt Ltd in return for non-realization of over Rs 1,900 crore in loans from Yes Bank to Gautam Thapar-promoted Avantha Realty and group companies.