Yes Bank fraud case: Mumbai court reserves order on Sudhir Valia interim protection plea

A Mumbai court on Monday did not grant interim relief to businessman Sudhir Valia in a Rs 1,000 crore alleged financial fraud case. Yes Bank co-founder Rana Kapoor is an accused in the same FIR. Valia has asked for anticipatory bail due to fear of arrest. The court listed the matter for June 1.

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Additional sessions judge Y P Manathkar said the FIR contains serious allegations. The judge noted the need to hear both sides in detail first. Valia had also requested interim protection until the main bail plea is decided. The court, however, passed no order on that interim request on Monday.

Yes Bank FIR details in Rs 1,000 crore mortgaged property case

The Economic Offences Wing of Mumbai Police has filed a fresh FIR. It names Kapoor, Valia and others. Valia is a director of Suraksha Asset Reconstruction Limited, also called Suraksha ARC. Police registered the case at Worli police station. The complaint came from Lakhminder Dayal Singh linked to Saffair Land Development.

Saffair Land Development is described as a sister concern of HDIL in the complaint. The FIR says an HDIL group firm, Privilege Power and Infrastructure, took a Rs 300 crore loan. The loan was from the Worli branch of Yes Bank in 2015. Later, Saffair sought a Rs 150 crore loan, which the bank approved in 2016.

Yes Bank loan timeline and Suraksha ARC recovery claim

To secure the loans, HDIL and its group companies mortgaged properties worth Rs 1,000 crore with the bank. The FIR says the repayment period was set at 36 months. Singh stated that in June 2018, Singh learnt of a recovery move. Singh alleged Yes Bank authorised Suraksha Asset Reconstruction Pvt Ltd to recover Rs 176.53 crore.

Singh alleged this authorisation came before the repayment period ended. Singh also claimed the Rs 1,000 crore mortgaged assets were shifted to Suraksha ARC illegally. Singh alleged this happened even though the firm was not marked as a Non-Performing Asset. A 2019 special audit report is cited in the FIR on this point.

Yes Bank margin money allegation and property sale claim

The complainant further claimed the mortgaged properties were sold below market value. The complaint also alleged a wider conspiracy around funding. It stated Yes Bank gave margin money of Rs 22.5 crore to Suraksha ARC. Singh alleged the money moved through several accounts to help take control of the mortgaged properties.

In the pre-arrest plea, Valia rejected the accusations and said Valia was named with ill intent. "The entire case is an attempt by a suspended director to weaponize the criminal justice system over a concluded, fully documented financial transaction,\" the plea said. It added Valia is one of six directors at Suraksha ARC, a public limited company.

Valia also argued the complaint does not spell out any direct role. \"The FIR fails to attribute any specific meeting, email, instruction, or overt act to him personally, nor does it allege that he received any wrongful personal gain,\" Valia said. The court will hear the anticipatory bail plea again on June 1, after detailed arguments.

With inputs from PTI