Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor's interim bail plea rejected

Mumbai: A court here on Friday rejected the interim bail plea of Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor, who is currently in judicial custody on money laundering charges.

Kapoor, 62, had sought bail claiming that his prevailing medical condition puts him at the risk of contracting coronavirus infection in jail.

In the plea filed through his lawyer Subhash Jadhav, he claimed that he was suffering from chronic immunodeficiency syndrome, which causes recurrent lung, sinus and skin infections.

He also claimed to be suffering from severe hypertension, anxiety and depression since the last 18 months.

This, combined with his history of longstanding bronchial asthma since childhood, puts him at the high risk of a severe lung infection, which can lead to death, the bail plea said.

The application further said that the present situation of coronavirus can lead to a severe lung infection and death as the disease is more likely to affect those above sixty years of age, with low immunity and long-standing respiratory problem.

However, the court refused to grant interim relief to him.

Kapoor was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) last month.

According to the ED, loans of Rs 30,000 crore were given by Yes Bank when Kapoor was at its helm, and of these, advances of Rs 20,000 crore turned into bad loans.

The ED has accused that Kapoor, his family members and others got benefits worth Rs 4,300 crore through companies controlled by his family as kickbacks for sanctioning huge loans.

He is also accused of receiving bribes for going easy on loans given to a few big corporate groups that had turned into non-performing assets (NPAs).