Kapur sent this letter a day before the board was scheduled to meet, saying that Kapoor must be prevented from influencing the process of finding a new CEO for the bank
Yes Bank promoter Madhu Kapur has written to the board asking that CEO Rana Kapoor be sent on leave for the rest of his term ending January 31, 2019, reported The Economic Times. She feels Kapoor may influence the selection of the new CEO if he continues in office.
On September 19, the Reserve Bank of India asked Kapoor to step down as CEO at the end of January 2019, in a move that was seen as a response to Yes Bank’s handling of NPAs. The central bank had earlier forced Yes Bank to declare undisclosed NPAs.
In the letter, Kapur also asked for a forensic audit on loans sanctioned by him. “There is information in public domain that influential defaulting customers’ accounts have been camouflaged to avoid disclosures to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI),” Kapur said in her letter, asking for such disclosures to be made.
“It is absolutely necessary at this juncture that the board gives a message not only to the RBI as the banking regulator but also to all the stakeholders that the board is serious in addressing the real issues that affect the bank and are taking decisions and actions accordingly,” the letter read.
Yes Bank was started by Ashok Kapur and Rana Kapoor. After Kapur’s death in the 26/11 attacks, his widow Madhu entered into a protracted legal battle with Rana Kapoor.
In 2015, the Bombay High Court granted Madhu Kapur and her children Shagun Gogia and Gaurav Kapur the right to nominate directors to the bank board.
Kapur wrote that RBI’s refusal to extend Kapoor’s tenure raised questions about the well-being of the bank. “The media publicity has increased fear of all shareholders about the bank’s uncertain future and ability to remedy its wrongs that have occurred due to deliberate machinations rather than any other factors,” she said.
She also called for Rana Kapoor to not be involved with the bank in any capacity going forward, “even as an expert advisor or consultant”.
