Rana Kapoor remanded in CBI custody till Aug 21 | Economic Times

A special court on Saturday remanded Rana Kapoor in the CBI’s custody till August 21, allowing a plea by the federal agency for custodial interrogation of the jailed banker.The Central Bureau of Investigation had sought Kapoor’s custody in connection with a second First Information Report (FIR) it had registered in a fraud case involving transactions between the lender and the Avantha group.In lieu of loans sanctioned by Yes Bank to the Avantha group of companies when Kapoor was at the helm, the CBI has claimed that he allegedly received illegal gratification in the form of a property in a prime location in New Delhi at much less than the realizable market value. In its FIR, the agency has said that Kapoor, the then managing director and CEO of Yes Bank Ltd, abused his official position and entered into a criminal conspiracy with Gautam Thapar, the promoter of Avantha Realty Ltd, Bindu Kapoor (Rana Kapoor’s wife) and others to obtain a mortgaged property of the bank as illegal remuneration for providing favours in other loan accounts of the Avantha group. Acceding to Kapoor’s counsel Vijay Aggarwal’s request, the court, however, rejected CBI’s plea to arrest Kapoor in the case as per provisions of Section 41 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) pertaining to arrest by the police sans a warrant. “Superintendent of Taloja jail, Navi Mumbai is directed to hand over the custody of accused Kapoor on August 15...Investigating officer is directed to adhere to all guidelines in police custody,” according to the order, which ET has reviewed. While seeking his remand, CBI said Bindu Kapoor had told the agency that she was the director of Bliss Abode Pvt Ltd (the company that purchased the property) only in name.“... all the company’s affairs were being looked after by Kapoor and his team of employees, and she is not aware about any of the transactions. As such, the acquisition of the property - 40, Amrita Shergill Marg, New Delhi - in the name of said company has been decided and executed at the instance of Kapoor,” it said in the remand application.“Kapoor - being MD & CEO of Yes Bank - misused his position to illegally purchase the said property at a very low consideration to benefit him. His custodial interrogation is necessary to confirm the said fact and unearth the conspiracy,” it added. CBI said Rana Kapoor was the ‘mastermind’ and ‘main conspirator’ and told the court that it needed to arrest and confront him with several oral and documentary evidence that the agency has gathered during the probe.“The documents clearly reveal the active involvement of Kapoor,” the remand plea stated.