YES Bank case: Wadhawans fail to appear before ED

Dheeraj Wadhawan, formerly an executive director of Dewan Housing Finance Corporation (DHFL), and his brother Kapil Wadhawan, a promoter of DHFL, on Tuesday failed to appear before the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which had summoned them in connection with the case of money laundering at YES Bank. The duo is also accused in the money laundering case involving deceased gangster Iqbal Mirchi. Both the Wadhawan brothers are out on bail.

ED’s case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) is based on a first information report filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in which it alleged YES Bank’s founder Rana Kapoor had entered into a criminal conspiracy with Kapil. ED had told the court on March 8 that the bank had bought debentures worth ₹3,700 crore from DHFL. In lieu of this, DHFL sanctioned a ₹600-crore loan to DoIT Urban Ventures Pvt Ltd, a company in which Kapoor’s daughters, Radha Kapoor Khanna and Roshni Kapoor, are directors. ED alleged this loan was given without adequate collateral.

According to CBI’s FIR, DoIT Urban Ventures is a wholly-owned subsidiary of RAB Enterprises in which Bindu Kapoor, Kapoor’s wife, is a director and is a shareholder along with Kapoor’s daughters.

Sources stated Wadhawans had been summoned before ED on Tuesday, but after they did not appear, they have asked for more time.

A spokesperson, on behalf of the Wadhawans, said, “Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan in their letter to the agency said they have replied to all three summons and have been cooperating with the agency. They added that they have been travelling and were unwell.”