Yes Bank Founder Rana Kapoor Gets Bail After Four Years In Alleged Loan Fraud Case

Rana Kapoor, the founder of Yes Bank, was released from prison on Friday evening after being granted bail by a court in an alleged loan fraud case. Kapoor, initially arrested in March 2020 by the Enforcement Directorate on charges of money laundering, had been held at Taloja jail in Navi Mumbai. This release comes amidst a backdrop of multiple cases against him, with both the ED and CBI investigating eight cases related to alleged frauds at Yes Bank. Kapoor had previously secured bail in seven of these cases.

The granting of bail by M G Deshpande, special judge for CBI cases, came earlier in the day. The judge emphasized that Kapoor’s continued incarceration was unnecessary as the trial for the current case was pending. The case in question involved allegations that Kapoor, in his capacity as managing director and CEO of Yes Bank, received ‘illegal gratification’ in exchange for sanctioning a loan at an undervalued rate for a prime property in Delhi. Kapoor’s defence argued that the charges against him were vague and failed to establish his direct involvement in any wrongdoing, highlighting that he was not the sole decision-maker in the loan approval process. The court’s decision to grant bail was influenced by the fact that other co-accused, including Avantha group promoter Gautam Thapar, were already out on bail, further strengthening Kapoor’s case for release.