Money laundering: ED gets custody of realty co's chairman, MD

A special court here on Thursdayremandedthe chairman and the managing director (MD) of city-based Omkar Realtors and Developers to the ED custody tillJanuary 30 in connection with a money laundering case linkedto the alleged loan fraud in Yes Bank.

The chairman of the company, Kamal Kishore Gupta, andMD Babulal Varma were arrested hereon Wednesday by theEnforcement Directorate (ED) under the Prevention of MoneyLaundering Act (PMLA).

The central probe agency produced the duobefore thespecial PMLA court, presided over by judge A A Nandgoankar,and sought their remand for interrogation.

Accepting the ED's plea, the court sentGupta andVarma to the agency's custody till January 30.

The ED raided 10 premises of the realty group and itspromoters in Mumbai on January 25 on charges of misusingvarious permissions given under the Slum RehabilitationAuthority (SRA) schemes and allegations of ''diverting'' aroundRs 450 crore taken by way of a loan from Yes bank, agencysources had said.

The company had then called the ED action a ''routineenquiry'' and said it is a matter related to some writpetitions filed against it before the Bombay High Court.

The real estate firm had said it has not diverted anyfunds and ''has acted as per legal rules and regulations''.

''The matter raised by the petitioner in regards to aRs 450 crore loan from Yes Bank is availed under bankingguidelines as project loan against sale collaterals andutilised for the stated purpose only.

''We will like to emphatically state that there are nodiversions of any project fund availed by us in any project ofthe company,'' the company had said.

Yes Bank co-promoter Rana Kapoor (63) and scam-hitDewan Housing Finance Ltd (DHFL) promoters Kapil Wadhawan andDheeraj Wadhawan were arrested in the case by the ED last yearand they are in judicial custody at present.

On Wednesday, the special court had remanded Kapoor tothe ED's custody till January 30 after her was arrested in afresh money laundering case.

The ED had booked Kapoor, his family members andothers under the PMLA after studying a CBI FIR that allegedthat dubious multi-crore loans were given by Yes Bank tovarious entities in contravention of the law and in lieu ofpurported kickbacks given to the Kapoor family.

The agency has accused Kapoor, his family members andothers of laundering proceeds of crime worth Rs 4,300 crore byreceiving alleged kickbacks in lieu of extending big loansthrough their bank that later turned non-performing assets.

PTI AVIRSY RSY