After the Central Bureau of Investigation filed a First Information Report (FIR) against Avanta Realty Ltd last year, its promoter, the Enforcement Directorate has arrested its promoter Gautam Thapar in a money laundering case.
An FIR was registered against Thapar and others for defrauding Yes Bank to the tune of over Rs 466 crore during 2017-’19.
Officials said the agency conducted raids against him and his associated businesses in Delhi and Mumbai, following which arrests were made on Tuesday night under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
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He is expected to be produced in the court on Wednesday where the ED will seek his custody. The alleged transaction, which has raised suspicion among officials, took place between his company Avantha Realty, Yes Bank co-founder Rana Kapoor and his wife, whose agency is already probing under the PMLA.
The ED had registered the money laundering case after taking cognizance of an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
What are the charges?
“The (CBI) FIR alleges that Rana Kapoor, the then MD and CEO of Yes Bank Ltd, obtained illegal gratification in the form of property at a prime location in Delhi at a price much below the actual market value belonging to Avantha Reality Ltd. The ED had earlier said that for granting concessions, exemptions and exemptions to loans to ARL and the already existing credit facilities to Avantha Group companies and to fresh and additional loans granted to them by Yes Bank Ltd.
Last year, the CBI had booked Kapoor and his wife Bindu for allegedly receiving a bribe of Rs 307 crore from a realty firm in a plush area of Delhi to buy a bungalow at almost half the market value, while about 1,900 The bank had enabled Rs. loans to him in return, according to PTI.
The concessional deal for a 1.2-acre bungalow on Amrita Shergill Marg in Delhi was treated as satisfaction to Kapoor in return for non-recovery of over Rs 1,900 crore in loans to Gautam Thapar from Yes Bank through the company Bliss Abode Pvt Ltd. Going- Promoted to Avanta Realty and group companies.
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