Anil Ambani loses ADAG Mumbai headquarters to YES Bank after Rs 2,892 crore default

YES Bank has reportedly taken possession of Reliance Centre in Mumbai, the headquarter of Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG), after the company failed to repay dues worth Rs 2,892 crore. The Anil Ambani-led group is one of the biggest borrowers of YES Bank with exposure of over 12,000 crore.

The bank has taken over 21,000 square feet building of ADAG in Santacruz and also two floors in Nagin Mahal in South Mumbai, which was its previous headquarters, as per an advertisement published on Wednesday. The bank acquired the building on July 22 under the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest (SARFESI) Act.

In March, Anil Ambani was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) with regard to ADAG's position with respect to its exposure to YES Bank. As per Reliance Group spokesperson, Ambani had told the ED officials that all transactions between ADAG and YES Bank were in compliance with the law and financial regulations. He had said that the group is committed to honour the repayment obligations of all its borrowings from YES Bank through asset monetisation programmes.

In connection with YES Bank founder Rana Kapoor and others, Ambani had said that the Reliance Group has no direct or indirect exposure to Kapoor, his wife or daughters, or any entity controlled by them.

In May, the ED filed a charge sheet against Rana Kapoor, his daughters Roshni Kapoor, Radha Kapoor and Rakhee Kapoor, along with Morgan Credits, Yes Capital and Rab Enterprises in connection with the YES Bank fraud case. Kapoor, who has been accused of receiving kickbacks in lieu of sanctioning loans to certain firms, was arrested by the ED on March 8 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

Crisis-hit YES Bank on Tuesday reported 60.05 per cent year-on-year decline in standalone net profit at Rs 45.44 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, 2020. The lender's gross non-performing assets (NPA) ratio as a percentage of gross advances rose sharply to 17.3 per cent against 5.01 per cent in Q1 FY20. Net NPA ratio also increased to 4.96 per cent as compared to 2.9 per cent in the year-ago period.

By Chitranjan Kumar

Also Read: YES Bank Q1 results: Profit plunges 60% to Rs 45 crore; provisions at Rs 1,087 crore

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