Yes Bank case: ED attaches Rana Kapoor's Rs 127-crore London flat

The Enforcement Directorate has attached a Rs 127 crore flat of Yes Bank co-promoter Rana Kapoor in London in connection with a money laundering case.

The agency issued a provisional order for attaching the property -- Apartment 1, 77 South Audley Street, London -- worth around Rs 127 crore (13.5 million pound) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

This is the second attachment of Kapoor's assets in less than three months in connection with the multi-crore loans given by Yes Bank to various entities against the law and in lieu of purported kickbacks given to his family.

On July 9, the ED had attached assets worth Rs 2,203 of Yes Bank co-founder Rana Kapoor and Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Ltd (DHFL) promoters Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan.

According to a statement issued by the ED on Friday, the London property was "purchased by Kapoor in 2017 for Rs 93 crore (9.9 million pounds) in the name of DOIT Creations Jersey Limited and he is the beneficial owner.

The ED obtained "information from a reliable source that Kapoor was trying to alienate this property in London and that he has hired a reputed property consultant. Enquiries from open sources confirmed that this property has been listed for sale on several websites," it added.

The agency will soon be approaching their counterparts in the United Kingdom to execute the attachment order.

Rana Kapoor and the Wadhawans were arrested earlier by the ED and are in judicial custody at present.

Kapoor, his family members and others have been accused of laundering proceeds of crime worth Rs 4,300 crore by receiving alleged kickbacks in lieu of extending big loans through their bank that later turned into non-performing assets (NPA).

The CBI had on June 25 filed a chargesheet against Kapoor and Wadhawans among others in a quid-pro- quo case involving the private sector lender. It is alleged that Kapoor's family received kickbacks for Yes Bank's investment in DHFL's debentures.

Kapoor is charged for entering into a criminal conspiracy with Kapil Wadhawan for extending financial assistance to DHFL through Yes Bank.

According to the CBI, Yes Bank invested Rs 3,700 crore in short-term debentures of the scam-hit DHFL between April and June 2018. Wadhawan allegedly "paid kickback of Rs 600 crore" to Kapoor in the form of loans to DoIT Urban Ventures, a firm controlled by Kapoor's wife and daughters, the CBI had claimed.

"In addition to the above, Yes Bank Ltd had also sanctioned a loan of Rs 750 crore to RKW Developers, a group company of DHFL beneficially owned by Kapil Wadhawan, Dheeraj Wadhawan and their family members," the ED alleged.

This loan had been sanctioned to them for their Bandra Reclamation Project, Mumbai, but the entire amount was siphoned off by the Wadhawans through their shell companies, it claimed.