Yes Bank Co-founder Rana Kapoor Gets Bail In ED’s Case, Will Remain In Jail

Yes Bank co-founder Rana Kapoor granted bail by a special court in Mumbai on Thursday in a money-laundering case related to alleged financial irregularities at the bank. He would not, however, walk out of jail right now because he has not been granted bail in a similar case filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation.

In March 2020, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) detained Kapoor, 65, the former MD and CEO of the private bank, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). MG Deshpande, a special judge for the PMLA court, granted Kapoor bail on Thursday.

The trial in the case cannot begin or end in light of the Supreme Court's expectations and guidelines (in a different case), thus he was entitled to relief under section 436-A of the Code of Criminal Procedure and deserves to be freed on bail, according to the court. According to Section 436-A, an under-trial prisoner has the right to request bail after serving more than half of the maximum potential term for the offence of which he or she is accused.

Kapoor, for his part, never initiated any proceeding to prolong the trial, nor did he limit the ED's proceedings before this court. According to the court, the ED did not argue that Kapoor's bail applications are creating a delay in the inquiry. Kapoor stated in his bail plea, filed through solicitors Rahul Agarwal and Jasmine Purani, that he had been imprisoned for more than three and a half years, half the maximum punishment authorised for the offence under the PMLA.

Given the current state of the case, he believes the trial will not commence anytime soon. The ED, on the other hand, claimed that Kapoor was one of the major accused who abused his position to obtain excessive financial benefits of Rs 5,050 crore for himself, his family members, and associates through bribery, corruption, and money laundering. According to the investigating agency, Kapoor received several hundred crores of rupees in kickbacks for fake loans made by Yes Bank to DHFL and its group firms owned by Kapil Wadhawan and Dheeraj Wadhawan (both co-accused in the case).