Yes Bank case of ED: HC refuses pre-arrest bail to Wadhawans

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Tuesday refused to grant pre-arrest bail to DHFL promoters Dheeraj Wadhawan and Kapil Wadhawan in connection with a money laundering case of Yes Bank being probed by the Enforcement Directorate.

The Wadhawans, who are presently in jail after being arrested by the CBI in the Yes Bank case, moved the high court last week seeking anticipatory bail in the money laundering case, and another case pertaining to alleged irregularities in the investment of employees’ provident fund of the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd (UPPCL).

Justice Bharati Dangre on Tuesday rejected the pleas in both the cases.

Wadhawans’ counsel Amit Desai last week argued that there was no case made out for money laundering and the alleged transactions were made in the normal course of business.

Desai further argued that there was no case made out for any arrest or an arrest warrant at this stage, in the midst of COVID-19 lockdown, in a matter of financial nature which is being investigated for last six months.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) counsels Anil Singh and Hiten Venegavkar opposed the pleas and argued that provident funds worth Rs 4,200 crore were deposited with the Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Ltd (DHFL) as fixed deposits in alleged collusion with some officials of the UPPCL.

Dheeraj Wadhawan and Kapil Wadhawan were arrested last month by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the Yes Bank scam.

According to the CBI FIR, the scam started taking shape between April and June 2018 when Yes Bank invested Rs 3,700 crore in short-term debentures of the scam-hit DHFL.

In return, the Wadhawans allegedly “paid kickbacks of Rs 600 crore” to former Yes Bank CEO Rana Kapoor and his family members in the form of loans to DoIT Urban Ventures (India) Pvt Ltd held by the wife and daughters of Kapoor.

Besides the CBI, the duo is also being probed separately by the ED in connection with the Yes Bank scam.