Yes Bank Crisis: Rs 20K cr loan sanctioned by Rana Kapoor turned NPA: Enforcement Directorate

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday told a special court that Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor had sanctioned loans worth Rs 30,000 crore to various entities during his tenure as its chief out of which Rs 20,000 crore turned into bad debts.

The ED made the submission to a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Mumbai which extended till March 16 the agency's custody of Kapoor.

Kapoor, 62, former MD and CEO of the private bank, was arrested by the ED in Mumbai on Sunday under provisions of the PMLA as he was allegedly not cooperating in the probe.

He was earlier remanded in the ED custody till March 11. As his remand ended on Wednesday, he was produced before special court judge P P Rajvaidya.

The court extended his ED custody till March 16 as the agency had sought the remand for further probe.

While seeking his custody, the ED told the court that loans worth Rs 30,000 crore were given to various entities during Kapoor's tenure.

"Of this, Rs 20,000 crore turned into bad debts. We need to probe in great detail how the money has travelled," the agency submitted.

Rana Kapoor is facing a probe from the ED and the CBI over allegations he received kickbacks through scam-hit Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Limited's (DHFL) Rs 600 crore loan to a family-owned company.

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(RBI) last week imposed a moratorium on the capital-starved Yes Bank, capping withdrawals at Rs 50,000 per account, and superseded the board of the private sector lender with immediate effect.

As many as 44 companies belonging to 10 large business groups reportedly accounted for bad loans of Rs 34,000 crore of Yes Bank. Nine firms of Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group reportedly owed Rs 12,800 crore while Essel Group had unpaid loans of Rs 8,400 crore.

The Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group for its part said its entire debt from Yes Bank is fully secured and was availed in the ordinary course of business.

In a statement, the Group said it is committed to honouring repayments of all its borrowings from Yes Bank through its asset monetisation programme.

The Group, it said, has "nil direct or indirect exposure to Rana Kapoor, former CEO of Yes Bank, or his wife or daughters, or any entities controlled by Rana Kapoor or his family."

The Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group alongside Subhash Chandra's Essel Group were among the large borrowers that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had named after Yes Bank's board was superseded by the RBI.

The Reliance statement also said: "Its entire exposure to Yes Bank is fully secured and transacted in the ordinary course of business."

"Reliance Group is committed to honouring repayments of all its borrowings from Yes Bank Ltd through its various asset monetisation programmes which are all at advanced stages," the statement added.