Yes Bank co-founder Rana Kapoor informed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) that he was "forced" to buy an M F Husain painting from Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for Rs 2 crore, according to a supplementary chargesheet filed by the investigative agency in a Mumbai court.
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," according to the ED chargesheet pertaining to a money laundering case.
The late Murli Deora, who was the country’s petroleum minister at the time, had told Kapoor at a dinner in his official bungalow in New Delhi that the failure to purchase the painting could have "adverse repercussions" on him and Yes Bank, Kapoor has claimed in his statement to the ED.
Murli Deora had told Rana Kapoor that if he did not buy the painting it would be held against him and he would not be able to ever build a relationship with the Gandhi family. It would also prevent him from getting the 'Padma Bhushan award, the chargesheet states.
"First of all I wish to state that it was a forced sale for which I was never ready", the chargesheet cited Kapoor as saying about the painting allegedly purchased from Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
Milind Deora had also made several visits to his house and office to persuade him to purchase the MF Husain painting from Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
He had even made several calls in this regard from multiple mobile numbers, Kapoor told the ED, as per the chargesheet.
Congress leader Ahmed Patel, who was a close confidant of Sonia Gandhi, had told also told Rana Kapoor that by “supporting the Gandhi family at an opportune time for medical treatment of Sonia Gandhi, I (Kapoor) had performed a good deed for the family and it would be duly considered for the 'Padma Bhushan' award,” the ED chargesheet cites Kapoor as saying.
Kapoor is currently in judicial custody after his arrest in the money laundering case in March 2020.
