The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has ordered the unfreezing of bank accounts as well as share and mutual fund holdings of Rana Kapoor, former MD and CEO of Yes Bank. Kapoor has been in jail since March 2020 in connection with the DHFL money laundering case.
The regulator, in July, sent a notice to Kapoor asking him to pay Rs2.22 crore in a case of mis-selling the private sector lender’s Additional Tier-1 (AT1) bonds and warned of arrest and attachment of assets as well as bank accounts if he fails to make the payment within 15 days. This amount includes interest and recovery costs. The demand notice came after Kapoor failed to pay the fine of Rs2 crore imposed on him by the Sebi in September 2022. Thereafter, in September this year, the regulator attached bank as well as demat accounts along with mutual fund folios of the defaulter.
The release order came after the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT), through a ruling on September 12, granted an interim stay on a Sebi order in the case of mis-selling the AT1 bonds. Further, the appellate tribunal directed Kapoor to deposit a sum of Rs 50 lakh within six weeks. The matter has been listed on November 20.
Rana Kapoor's Wife Allowed To Travel To Dubai On Medical Grounds
Meanwhile, the special PMLA court recently allowed Kapoor’s wife Bindu to travel to Dubai for treatment, holding that she has not misused the liberty given to her or dealt with proceeds of crime (POC).
Bindu had approached the court for permission to travel to Dubai between October 15 to October 25 for treatment as she is suffering from multiple orthopaedic issues.
The court noted that her doctor, Arvind G Kulkarni, had diagnosed that she was suffering from osteoporosis and D12 osteoporotic wedging fracture (2017). She has been advised to seek the opinion of a Dubaibased doctor who was to see her on October 18. The plea was opposed by the agency.
The court, however, noted: “It is material to note that applicant’s husband is in jail. ED could not produce any evidence to show that ever since the applicant is on bail, she has committed any breach of conditions. There is nothing to show that she has dealt with POC by taking advantage of liberty granted to her by the court. Her husband is in jail. Her unmarried daughter Roshini is in India. Also she has filed the copy of details of hotel booking indicating the place of her stay, which is nothing but an itinerary. Hence, there is no possibility that she will abscond permanently as apprehended by the ED.”
The court noted that the trial in the case was yet to begin and there was no urgent hearing scheduled in the case during the said time
