ED To Record Rana Kapoor's Statement In Mumbai Jail In Avantha Group Case

The ED will record former Yes Bank chief Rana Kapoor's statement inside Taloja Jail between August 25 and August 28 in connection with the Avantha Group of Companies case.

Judge MG Deshpande of the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court has allowed former Yes Bank chief Rana Kapoor's lawyer to be present while the Enforcement Directorate (ED) records his statement.

The lawyer can be at a visible distance but not within hearing range when ED officials record Kapoor's statement. Kapoor is in Mumbai's Taloja Jail after being arrested in March 2020 in the alleged Yes Bank fraud case. The ED is probing an alleged transaction between the Avantha Group of Companies'' promoter Gautam Thapar and Rana Kapoor and his wife.

The application, filed by Kapoor's advocate Vijay Agarwal, said the court should recall its order passed on August 20. Agarwal said that if the order is not recalled, then at least the presence of an advocate should be allowed when Kapoor is interrogated by ED officials and that this should be recorded on a CCTV camera. The CCTV recording request of Kapoor has also been accepted by the court, said Agarwal.

The court had granted permission to ED to interrogate Kapoor inside the jail between August 25 and 28. Agarwal alleged that this request was made by ED without Kapoor's lawyers being heard.

However, on Tuesday, special public prosecutor Sunil Gonsalves argued that the issue of ED seeking time to interrogate Kapoor was between the agency and the court. "The application is only for scuttling the investigation. ED has taken permission from the court. ED officers are not just police officers but they are quasi-judicial officers. Police officials record statements under section 161 of Criminal Procedure Code, while ED officials record statements under section 50 of the PMLA," argued Gonsalves.

The Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) in the case was registered by ED on June 15 and pursuant to that, officials need to question Kapoor as "certain facts are within the personal knowledge of Rana Kapoor," said the order.

The fresh case that ED is investigating against Kapoor pertains to a loan taken by Oyster Buildwell Pvt Ltd, a holding company of Avantha Realty Limited from Yes Bank Ltd, and its alleged misappropriation between 2017 and 2019. According to the agency, the bank had suffered losses of over Rs 466 crore. Apart from Kapoor, his wife Bindu Kapoor and promoter of Avantha group, Gautam Thapar, are also accused in the case. Thapar was arrested by ED earlier this month and is in judicial custody.