Bombay high court on Tuesday rejected two separate anticipatory bail pleas each filed by Dheeraj and Kapil Wadhawan of DHFL Group in the proceedings initiated against them by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the Yes Bank scam and the purported diversion of funds from Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd (UPPCL).
The Wadhawan brothers are accused of diverting about Rs 4122 crore from the General Provident Fund (GPF) and Central Provident Fund (CPF) deposits of UPPCL to their company.
They are also accused of fraudulently diverting funds to the tune of Rs 12,700 crore from DHFL’s accounts to the firms or companies beneficially owned by them and further diverting the funds to other companies.
The brothers are also named as accused in Yes Bank bribery case. It is alleged that former CEO of the bank, Rana Kapoor, had entered into a criminal conspiracy with the Wadhawans for extending financial assistance to DHFL through Yes Bank in return for “substantial undue benefits” to himself and his family members through companies held by them.
The Wadhawans moved the high court seeking anticipatory bail in both the cases after the special courts in Mumbai rejected their pre-arrest bail pleas on April 28.
Their lawyers argued that all the documents concerned are seized and there was no need for their custodial interrogation.
Additional solicitor general Anil Singh, who appeared for ED, had opposed their pleas contending that the amount of EPF cannot be invested in any other institution except scheduled commercial banks and despite this, more than 50% of the amount was invested in DHFL.
Singh strenuously opposed the pre-arrest bail pleas saying their custodial interrogation was necessary to ascertain the money trail and the properties acquired by them from proceeds of the crime.
He also pointed out that there are about 79 companies formed by Wadhawans and they have misappropriated thousands of crores.
As regards the Yes Bank scam, the additional solicitor had argued that the bank had invested about Rs 3,700 crore in short-term debentures of the scam-hit DHFL and the Wadhawans had in return paid about a sum of Rs 750 crore to the Rana family.
“Thus, there was layering from both sides,” Singh said opposing their pleas.
Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/mumbai-news/bombay-hc-rejects-pre-arrest-bail-pleas-of-dhfl-s-wadhawan-brothers/story-gri4lNMzJyEJTCmjiPijbP.html
