MUMBAI: Gautam Thapar, the promoter of the diversified Avantha Group, consisting of companies like Crompton Greaves (CG) and Ballarpur Industries (BILT) was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with an alleged money laundering involving Yes Bank fraud case.

Thapar was arrested by authorities under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) late night on August 3 following raids at his offices in Mumbai and Delhi and was produced before a special court which remanded him to ED’s custody for a day by a special court. 

According to news agencies, the ED has been probing an alleged transaction between his company Avantha Realty Ltd, Yes Bank co-founder Rana Kapoor and his wife, who are already being investigated under the PMLA by the agency. The case of money laundering was filed by the ED after taking cognisance of an FIR lodged by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The (CBI) FIR has alleged that Rana Kapoor, then MD and CEO of Yes Bank Limited, obtained illegal gratification in the form of a property in a prime location in Delhi at much less than the realisable market value belonging to Avantha Realty Ltd for sanction of a loan to Avantha Realty Ltd and for extending concessions, relaxations and waivers in the already existing credit facilities provided to Avantha Group companies and for advancing new and additional loans to them by Yes Bank Ltd.

According to the ED, their investigation has revealed that Rs 500.11 crore proceeds of crime were laundered through Oyster Buildwell Private Limited, Jhabua Power Ltd, Jhabua Power Investment Ltd, Avantha Power & Infrastructure Ltd, Avantha Reality Ltd etc which are being controlled and beneficially owned directly or indirectly by Gautam Thapar.

In June, the CBI had booked Thapar and others in a fresh case of fraud of Rs 2,435 crore in the State Bank of India (SBI) and other banks to probe an alleged fraud case at the CG Power and Industrial Solutions.

According to the company's profile, Avantha Group operates in 90 countries with over 25,000 employees worldwide and besides CG India's largest power transmission and distribution equipment company and BILT which is India's largest paper manufacturer it has operations in Belgium, Hungary, Ireland, France, Spain, United Kingdom and the USA.