Mumbai police have registered a fresh case of cheating and forgery against former Yes Bank chairman and chief executive officer Rana Kapoor, along with others, in connection with the sale of mortgaged assets of a borrower without following proper procedures.
Complaint details
The complainant, Lakhaminder Singh, director of Sapphire Land Development Ltd, alleged that he had mortgaged properties worth Rs 1,000 crore with the bank. After he defaulted on the loan, some of these assets were sold at prices below the prevailing market rates, causing a significant financial loss to his company.
The company had availed a loan of Rs 150 crore from Yes Bank between 2016 and 2018. Singh claimed that the pledged assets were unlawfully transferred to Suraksha Asset Reconstruction Company (ARC) for loan recovery without following the required legal procedures. The first information report (FIR) states that the transfer was carried out in collusion with bank officials and other accused individuals. Subsequently, some properties were sold at undervalued prices, resulting in a loss of nearly Rs 1,000 crore to the complainant company, according to the FIR.
Legal action taken
The banking unit of the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) registered the FIR with Worli police, who have booked Rana Kapoor, Suraksha ARC official Sudhir Walia, and others under charges of criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery, and criminal breach of trust, among other sections of the Indian Penal Code. The FIR alleges that the accused altered the priority charge over the mortgaged properties and reassigned rights in favor of Suraksha ARC. The priority charge is a legal right over an asset ensuring that a specific creditor is paid first from liquidation proceeds before others.
Singh also alleged that the margin money, which is the upfront down payment a borrower pays from their own funds, was arranged by the accused and provided to Suraksha ARC to facilitate the transfer of assets, the FIR added.
Background of Rana Kapoor
Rana Kapoor has faced multiple investigations by central agencies, including the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), in connection with alleged financial irregularities and corruption cases linked to the banking sector. He was arrested in 2020 in a money laundering case following the financial crisis at Yes Bank. The CBI had last year filed two separate chargesheets involving allegedly fraudulent transactions between Anil Ambani's group companies, including Reliance Commercial Finance Limited and Reliance Home Finance Limited, Yes Bank, and firms linked to Rana Kapoor.
