CBI gets custody of Kapil, Dheeraj Wadhawan in Yes Bank scam

The duo was arrested on Sunday from Mahabaleshwar, a hill station more than 300 km from Mumbai, nearly 50 days after they were booked in the multi-crore scam also involving former Yes Bank CEO and co-founder Rana Kapoor.

The Wadhawans were produced before a special court here which remanded them to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) custody till Wednesday (April 29).

The central agency, while seeking the duos custody, said their interrogation was necessary to find details of transactions between DHFL, Yes Bank and other companies involved in the case.

Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawans counsel Amit Desai filed bail applications on Monday, telling the court his clients would appear before the agency for questioning as and when required and cooperate with the probe.

The Wadhawans, while seeking bail, said they should not be put in jail in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The court kept the bail pleas pending and said since the duo has been remanded to CBI custody for two days, the applications would be taken up for consideration at a later stage.

According to the CBI, Kapoor (62) 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 fictitious companies held by them.

As per the agency, the scam took place between April and June 2018 when Yes Bank invested Rs 3,700 crore in short- term debentures of the tainted Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Ltd (DHFL).

In return, the Wadhawans allegedly paid kickbacks worth Rs 600 crore to Kapoor and his family members in form of loans to DoIT Urban Ventures (India) Pvt Ltd, a company owned by Kapoors wife and children, the CBI has said.

Apart from the CBI case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had also initiated a probe against Kapil Wadhawan on charges of money laundering after the scam came to light.

Kapil Wadhawan was arrested by the ED in January 2020 and later released on bail by a court.

On April 9, Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan, along with 23 others, had flouted lockdown rules imposed amid the COVID-19 pandemic and travelled from Khandala, a hill station around 130km from Mumbai, to Mahabaleshwar in Satara district.

They were then put under quarantine for two weeks in a Mahabaleshwar-based facility.

On April 18, the Wadhawan brothers obtained interim protection from arrest in the ED case. The duo had filed pre- arrest bail pleas claiming they should not be arrested in the middle of the pandemic.

On April 25, the CBI approached the court claiming they were not heard before the Wadhawan brothers were granted relief.

The agency sought cancellation of the relief granted to the duo which was allowed by the court, leading to their arrest.