Yes Bank’s Rana Kapoor, who is jailed for money laundering, told the ED that he was forced to buy an MF Husain painting from Priyanka-Gandhi Vadra and money from the sale was used for Sonia Gandhi’s treatment. The Congress did not deny the transaction but said it happened in 2010
Former Yes Bank CEO Rana Kapoor said that then petroleum minister Murli Deora told him that the refusal to buy the MF Husain painting would prevent him from building a relationship with the Gandhis. PTI
A war of words broke out between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over allegations by Yes Bank co-founder Rana Kapoor that he was “forced” to buy an MF Husain painting from Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and the sale proceeds were utilised by the Gandhi family for Sonia Gandhi’s treatment in New York.
The BJP hit out at the Congress with Union minister Anurag Thakur on Sunday demanding answers from the party. He alleged that the grand old party’s “only job was to sell the country”.
“The Congress should answer to this (Rana Kapoor’s statement) that a banker used to buy Congress leaders paintings in crores of rupees. This is not the first time an allegation was put against Congress. This shows that its only job was to sell the country,” news agency ANI quoted the BJP leader as saying.
The Congress, of course, counterattacked the BJP government, accusing it of indulging in political vendetta and further questioned Rana Kapoor’s credibility, calling him a “crook” and a “fraudster”.
Who is Rana Kapoor?
Rana Kapoor is the co-founder and former managing director of Yes Bank.
A former Bank of America executive, he set up Rabo India Finance, a non-banking finance company, with the help of Rabo Bank in 1997-1998, along with his brother-in-law Ashish Kapur and partner Harkit Singh. The trio then decided to open a private bank as the government was offering new banking licences and set up Yes Bank in 2004. Singh quit the venture after a fallout with his partners; Ashok Kapur went on to become the chairman and Rana Kapoor the managing director and chief executive officer.
Rana Kapoor was forced to step down as CEO of the bank on 31 January 2019.
What went wrong with Yes Bank?
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was watching Yes Bank closely and was not pleased with its governing practices. The bank has risky loans and in the process has accumulated non-performing assets.
After Kapoor’s term ended, it denied him an extension, even though he had the backing of the board. He was finally given an extension until January 2019.
After Kapoor quit the bank, he sold his stake, and by November 2019 he had 900 shares held by Yes Bank Capital (India) Private Limited.
In March 2020, the RBI imposed a temporary moratorium on the capital-starved Yes Bank and capped withdrawals at INR50,000 per account. Two days later, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Kapoor under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) because he was not allegedly cooperating in the probe.
How did the Gandhis get dragged into the controversy?
Rana Kapoor told the ED during an interrogation that he was forced to buy the MF Hussain painting from Priyanka Gandhi.
The former Yes Ban CEO has also alleged that then petroleum minister Murli Deora told him that the refusal to buy the painting would not only prevent him from building a relationship with the Gandhi family but also affect his chances of getting the Padma Bhushan, the country’s third-highest civilian award.
He also alleged that Ahmed Patel, the late confidante of Sonia Gandhi, had told him that by supporting the Gandhi family he had performed a good deed. Patel had also told Kapoor that he would be “duly considered” for a major civilian honour and “possibly some non-political banking and finance assignments”, according to the statement to the ED
Rana’s statement is part of the chargesheet filed by the central agency in a special court in Mumbai. It was recorded on 9 March and 10 March 2020 and the Congress has now accused the BJP of “planned leaks to godi media”.
Did Kapoor buy the painting from Priyanka Gandhi-Vadra?
The Congress has not denied the transaction between Kapoor and Gandhi-Vadra but said that it happened 12 years ago.
Calling Rana Kapoor a fraudster, Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi told the media at a press conference on Sunday, “This man makes allegations against dead people and the Bharatiya Janata Party just wants to keep the pot boiling.”
“2010 transaction is related to a person who is behind bars for years. Twenty to 30 bail applications have been rejected, this man makes allegations against dead people and BJP just wants to keep the pot boiling. Neither Deora saab is alive nor Ahmed Patel is alive to deny,” he added.
What are Congress’s allegations against the BJP?
The Congress leader has accused the government of “political vendetta”. “They are trying to create a fear psychosis to scare people, to do political vendetta,” he said.
Singhvi also spoke about an increase in Yes Bank loans between 2014 and 2019, blaming it on the Narendra Modi government. “In March 2014, the loan book of Yes Bank was Rs 55,000 crore. In 2019 March, five years later, it had increased five times to 2.41 lakh crore… under your nose or my nose. The loan book of Yes Bank also showed a very dramatic increase between two other dates which are very inconvenient for the Modi government, which neither the prime minister nor the government talks about at all anymore. In March 2016, it was Rs 98,000 crore. And in March 2018, it became 2.03 lakh crore… more than double. Demonetisation happened in November 2016. Because of and after demonetisation it increased within one year to double,” he said, according to The Indian Express.
He claimed that Modi had addressed a conference sponsored by the bank in Delhi on 6 March 2020. “It was after the RBI moratorium… anticipating a run on the bank.”
The Congress spokesperson also said that the Haryana government had invested Rs 2500 crore as government money into the bank’s accounts. “This is the great sinking bank into which BJP governments are putting money,” Singhvi said.
With inputs from agencies
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