New Delhi, 24/4: Yes Bank co-founder Rana Kapoor has told the Enforcement Directorate that he was “forced” to buy an M F Husain painting from Congress’ Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and the sale proceeds were utilised by the Gandhi family for the medical treatment of Congress president Sonia Gandhi in New York, as per the chargesheet filed by the federal anti-money laundering agency in a special court.
Kapoor also told the ED that he was told by the then petroleum minister Murli Deora that the refusal to buy the M F Husain painting will not only prevent him from building a relationship with the Gandhi family but also prevent him from getting the ‘Padma Bhushan’ award.
The statements of Rana Kapoor are part of the second supplementary chargesheet (overall third) filed in the special court recently against the Yes Bank co-founder, his family, Dewan Housing Finance Limited (DHFL) promoters Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan, and others in a money laundering case.
Stating that he had paid a cheque of Rs 2 crore, Kapoor claimed that “Milind Deora (son of the late Murli Deora and former Congress MP) later conveyed to him confidentially that the sale proceeds were utilised by the Gandhi family for the medical treatment of Sonia Gandhi in New York”.