Yes Banks Rs 600-crore loan assignment under ED scanner

A fresh complaint before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has raised questions over the assignment of a `600-crore loan given by Yes Bank to Privilege Power and Infrastructure Pvt Ltd (PPIPL) and later transferred to Suraksha Asset Reconstruction Private Limited (Suraksha ARC).

The complaint, filed by suspended PPIPL director Rakesh Kumar Wadhawan, seeks an FIR and investigation into the loan’s classification, valuation, assignment process and funding structure.

At the centre of the complaint is the allegation that the PPIPL account had not been classified as a Non-Performing Asset (NPA) when it was assigned to Suraksha ARC. Wadhawan has also questioned why a loan secured by assets and development rights valued by the complaint at more than `2,000 crore was assigned when the reported outstanding dues stood at about `213.6 crore.

According to the complaint, the assignment consideration was approximately `155.3 crore. Of this, around `23.3 crore was reportedly paid in cash, while about `131.98 crore was discharged through Security Receipts (SRs) said to have been held by Yes Bank.

The complaint cites a Yes Bank internal or forensic review that allegedly raised concerns about the movement of funds involving several entities. It also points to an alleged `100-crore increase in Fortune Integrated Assets Service’s cash-credit limit before the assignment.

Wadhawan has asked the ED and EOW to examine whether the transaction involved circular movement of funds and whether the assignment followed an independent valuation and transparent bidding process.

The EOW investigation, if undertaken, will determine whether the alleged transactions occurred as claimed and whether any legal or regulatory violations took place.