ED ‘establishes’ money trail linking Deepak Talwar with co-accused Yasmin Kapoor

NEW DELHI: Investigative agencies probing the aviation scam allegedly involving corporate lobbyist Deepak Talwar claim to have established a money trail between close aide Yasmin Kapoor, a co-accused in the case, and some entities related to him.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) told a local court last week that Stone Travels Pvt Ltd, a company controlled by Kapoor, received $235,120 from Gilt Asset Management Ltd, one of eight offshore companies allegedly belonging to Talwar, who was extradited from Dubai in January.

Talwar is accused of acting as a middleman in arranging kickbacks to public servants and politicians to make state-run Air India give up profit-making routes and timings in favour of local and foreign private airlines. Talwar's lawyers have, however, repeatedly denied the charges, calling them ‘baseless’.


The agency previously told the court that of the Rs 272 crore in kickbacks allegedly received by Talwar from various airlines, Rs 144 crore was received by Gilt Asset Management.

ED has claimed that Kapoor had been “trying to destroy evidence” and influence witnesses. She has been remanded in police custody till October 9.

In its remand paper, the agency said Gilt Asset Management transferred the amount ($235,120) to Stone Travels during 2010-11and 2011-12. Establishing a direct link between Talwar and Kapoor, the agency said its investigation had revealed Kapoor’s residence in APJ Abdul Kalam road was owned by M/s Gulshan Promoters Pvt Ltd, one of whose promoters, Devendra Dogra, had received $3.765 million (appoximately Rs 16 crore) from Gilt Asset Management.

Dogra and Neel Patnakar were shareholders of Gulshan Promoters, and ED claimed they transferred their shareholding in Gulshan Promoters to Sunrise Trust, in which Kapoor and her daughters Karina and Yamini Kapoor were the beneficial owners.

Dogra, along with Kapoor and Deepak Talwar, have been trustees of Sunrise Trust since its inception (November 9, 2015), while Kapoor has been a director in Gulshan Promoters from 2001 to 2018, ED told the court.

Deepak Talwar left Sunrise Trust in 2017-18.

Kapoor has been examined five times (in February and September), with the ED alleging throughout that she had remained “evasive and non-cooperative”. The agency has also alleged that Kapoor was a director/shareholder and trustee in many companies/entities/trusts created or controlled by Talwar.