After being sent to judicial custody till April 2 by a Mumbai court in connection to a money laundering case, the lawyer of Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor, Abbad Ponda, informed the court that his client had low immunity and was thus “easily susceptible” to the deadly Wuhan virus, Covid-19.
On being asked by Judge Parashuram Jadhav, Kapoor said that he was suffering from asthma from the past 6-7 years, besides low immunity and acute depression. Ponda said, “The virus is spreading very fast. It is a very precarious situation. If he goes there (to the jail) he might catch something which is very very serious. ”
His lawyer also demanded a bigger prison cell. The court directed prison health officials to take care of Rana Kapoor. The Judge also sent the accused to judicial custody until April 2 as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) did not seek his further remand.
Rana Kapoor, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Sunday around 3 am in Mumbai. He was arrested under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), following allegations of mismanagement and financial irregularities. Earlier, his upscale residence in ‘Samudra Mahal’ complex in Worli area was raided by the ED on Friday night. Reportedly, Kapoor was questioned for over 20 hours by the central agency on Saturday, finally leading to his arrest on Sunday morning.
The Central Bureau of Investigation had booked Kapoor and his wife Bindhu Kapoor for receiving ₹307 crore bribe from Avantha Realty Ltd. in connection to the purchase of a 1.2-acre uber-luxe bungalow at 40, Amrita Shergill Marg, New Delhi that was valued at ₹550 crores. Yes Bank is accused of not initiating actions to recover ₹1900 crores from the Avantha Group, despite the group of companies defaulting on its payment.
The ED was also investigating whether a dummy company controlled by Kapoor and two of his daughters, Doit Urban Ventures, received kickbacks to the tune of ₹600 crores in return for granting a ₹4,450 crore loan to Dewan Housing Financial Corporation Limited (DHFL).
