Yes Bank co-founder Rana Kapoor has informed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) that he was "forced" to buy a painting by MF Husain from Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, PTI reported on Sunday, 24 April.
Based on the ED chargesheet, the sale proceeds were used by the Gandhi family to pay for the medical treatment of Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi in New York.
Kapoor has also alleged that the then Petroleum Minister Murli Deora had told him that a refusal to buy the painting will prevent a good relationship with the Gandhi family and also the 'Padma Bhushan' award.
Kapoor apparently gave a cheque of Rs 2 crore for the painting.
"He had even made me several calls and messages also in this regard from multiple mobile numbers. In fact, I was very reluctant to go for this deal and I had tried also to avoid this deal several times by ignoring his calls/messages and personal meetings," Kapoor told the ED.
"Under this threat and against my family's wishes, since we are not high-value art collectors, I could not afford to invite any form of enmity with the two powerful families involved and thus I had to hesitatingly proceed given the looming and overhanging threat involved," he added.
Kapoor is currently in judicial custody after he was arrested in March 2020.
From a legal perspective, it should be noted that Kapoor has not, even according to the details of the statement being made public, made any specific allegations regarding the supposed coercion by the Gandhis.
At this time, no allegation has been made that the money obtained by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was received through illegal means, or left undeclared in her tax returns.
It should also be noted that the allegations have surfaced as being made in a statement to the ED during interrogation, not as a statement to a court.
Congress Counters Allegations
Reacting to the allegations, Congress party leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi in a press conference on Sunday, 24 April said that the government is making it an issue as it suits their "political angle".
"A person who is behind bars for years, whose 20-30 bail allegations have been rejected, makes allegations about dead people and the government is jumping with joy only because it suits their political angle. They want to keep the pot boiling for 2022 regarding a transaction of 2010 when neither Murli Deora nor Ahmed Patel is there (alive) to deny it," he said.
The ED has alleged that Rana Kapoor and Dewan Housing Finance Limited (DHFL) promoters Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan had siphoned off funds worth ₹5,050 crore and the former even tried to dispose off his overseas properties to protect them from being targeted by the ED under PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act).
(With inputs from PTI)
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