ED questions Yes Bank's Rana Kapoor in Anil Ambani firms probe: What we know

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday questioned Yes Bank co-founder Rana Kapoor as part of a money-laundering probe into Reliance Anil Ambani group companies, news agency PTI reported. His statement was recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Yes Bank allegedly invested Rs 2,965 crore in Reliance Home Finance Ltd (RHFL) instruments and Rs 2,045 crore in Reliance Commercial Finance Ltd (RCFL) instruments between 2017 and 2019. By December 2019, these investments had turned non-performing. The outstanding exposure stood at Rs 1,353.5 crore for RHFL and Rs 1,984 crore for RCFL.

According to the ED, the probe found that the two companies had received public funds worth more than Rs 11,000 crore.

"Before Yes Bank invested this money in Reliance Anil Ambani group companies, Yes Bank had received huge funds from the erstwhile Reliance Nippon Mutual Fund," the agency alleged. "As per SEBI regulations, Reliance Nippon Mutual Fund could not invest or divert funds directly into Anil Ambani group finance companies due to conflict-of-interest rules."

Therefore, the agency claimed, public money in mutual fund schemes was routed indirectly, and the path ran through the Yes Bank's exposures.