Yes Bank’s Rana Kapoor: Was forced to buy 2 crore painting from Gandhis

According to a chargesheet filed by the federal anti-money laundering agency in a special court here, Yes Bank co-founder Rana Kapoor told the Enforcement Directorate (ED) that he was “forced” to buy a M F Husain painting from Congress’s Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and that the sale proceeds were used by the Gandhi family for Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s medical treatment in New York.

Mr Kapoor also told the ED that the then-petroleum minister, Murli Deora, told him that refusing to buy the M F Husain painting would prevent him from not only building a relationship with the Gandhi family, but also from receiving the ‘Padma Bhushan’ award.

Rana Kapoor’s statements are included in the second supplementary chargesheet (overall third) filed in the special court here recently in a money laundering case against the Yes Bank co-founder, his family, Dewan Housing Finance Limited (DHFL) promoters Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan, and others.

Kapoor claimed that after paying a cheque for Rs. 2 crore, “Milind Deora (son of the late Murli Deora and former Congress MP) later conveyed to him confidentially that the sale proceeds were used by the Gandhi family for Sonia Gandhi’s medical treatment in New York.”

Kapoor also told the ED that Ahmed Patel, a close confidante of Sonia Gandhi, told him that by supporting the Gandhi family at an opportune time for Sonia Gandhi’s medical treatment, he (Kapoor) had done a good deed for the family and that he (Kapoor) would be duly considered for the ‘Padma Bhushan’ award.

Murli Deora tried to persuade Rana Kapoor that refusing to buy the painting would prevent him from ever developing a relationship with the Gandhi family. According to the chargesheet, it will also prevent him from receiving the ‘Padma Bhushan award.’

According to Kapoor’s statement to the ED, the late Deora told him over dinner that failing to buy the painting could have “adverse repercussions” for him and Yes Bank.

Following his arrest in the case in March 2020, the banker is currently in judicial custody.

Regarding the painting Kapoor allegedly purchased from Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the charge sheet stated, “First and foremost, I wish to state that it was a forced sale for which I was never ready.” Rana Kapoor was arrested in the case in March 2020 and is currently in judicial custody. The Wadhwans are also in custody after being arrested in a separate case.

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