Big Breaking: Was forced to buy MF Husain painting from Priyanka Gandhi; Rana Kapoor in ED Chargesheet

Yes Bank co-founder Rana Kapoor, in a statement to the ED, alleged that he was forced to buy a MF Husain painting from Priyanka Gandhi and paid Rs 2 crore.

According to the chargesheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate in a special court, Yes Bank co-founder Rana Kapoor told the agency that he was “forced” to buy an MF Husain painting from Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and that the sale proceeds were used by the Gandhi family for medical treatment of party chief Sonia Gandhi in New York.

Kapoor also told the ED that the then-petroleum minister, Murli Deora, told him that refusing to buy the painting would not only prevent him from developing a relationship with the Gandhi family, but would also prevent him from receiving the ‘Padma Bhushan’ award.

His statements are part of the second supplementary chargesheet (third overall) filed in a money laundering case in the special court here recently against the Yes Bank co-founder, his family, DHFL promoters Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan, and others.

Kapoor claimed that after paying a cheque for Rs 2 crore, “Milind Deora (son of late Murli Deora) later conveyed him confidentially that the sale proceeds were used by the Gandhi family for Sonia’s medical treatment.”

Kapoor also told the ED that Ahmed Patel, Sonia’s close confidante, had told him that by assisting the Gandhi family at an appropriate time for Sonia’s treatment, he had done a good deed for the family and that it would be duly considered for the ‘Padma Bhushan’ award.

“First and foremost, I would like to state that it was a forced sale for which I was never prepared,” the chargesheet said of the painting Kapoor allegedly bought from Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Milind Deora had paid several visits to Rana Kapoor’s home and office in order to persuade him to buy an MF Husain painting from Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

“He had also made several calls and messages from multiple mobile numbers in this regard.” In fact, I was very hesitant to go ahead with this deal, and I had tried to avoid it several times by ignoring his calls/messages and personal meetings,” Kapoor told the ED, according to the chargesheet.

The banker is currently in judicial custody following his arrest in the case in March 2020.