Political Contributions by Yes Bank Defaulter groups

The finance minister mentioned the names of some of the defaulters of Yes Bank in a recent press conference. We track if these companies or their group concerns have donated to political parties in the past.

Following the recent Yes Bank crisis, the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had briefed media on the crisis and named some of the top defaulters of the bank. During the briefing, the Finance Minister highlighted that Yes Bank gave loans to ‘very stressed corporates’ before 2014 and mentions Anil Ambani Group (Reliance Group), Essel Group (of Subhash Chandra), DHFL (Dewan Housing Finance Corp. Ltd.), Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd. and Vodafone as some of the defaulters.

In a media briefing, Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh claimed that the defaulters of Yes Bank are friends of BJP. He outlined some of the major defaulters of yes bank, as outlined by the Finance Minister in her briefing, and juxtaposes it with their contributions to BJP.

In another statement, Kirit Somaiya, Founder-President of IGF, former BJP MP and current Vice President of BJP’s Maharashtra Unit, enlisted the names of 10 companies which are the major defaulters as: Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, Essel Group, DHFL Group, IL&FS, Jet Airways, Cox & Kings, Go Travel, B M Khaitan Group, Omkar Realtors, Radius Developers, CG Power Thapar Group.

As there are no other official statements or a press release on the names of Yes bank defaulters, we take cue from the above statement and trace the political contributions of these top defaulter groups to major political parties. The collection of information in this regard is not an exhaustive exercise as only the name of top defaulters has been revealed in the public domain. Given the available names, we have checked the donations made to political parties with connections to these defaulters. There are two types of connections:

• Where the company that donates to political parties is part of the larger defaulter group.
• Where there is a common directorship between the company and the larger defaulter group, indicating a connection between the two.

The data has been sourced from Election Commission website – contribution reports of political parties and electoral trusts. The master data for all registered companies was sourced from Ministry of Corporate Affair’s website to understand common directorships companies and larger defaulter groups.

Please note: The data below is not an exhaustive compilation, as many companies and their connections to the defaulter groups could not be clearly established. The tables display only those companies for whom the connection could be established with available data in the public domain. We have also left out donations made by these companies/groups to electoral trusts who in turn donated to various political parties.

Contributions to BJP by defaulter Groups

The total contribution to Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) from Yes Bank defaulter groups amounts to ₹ 15,80,80,000 i.e. around 15.81 crores.

Essel Corporate Resource Pvt. Ltd. is mentioned the Essel Group’s website and the company shares common directorships with Essel Group companies listed here. Pan India Paryatan Limited, Essel Infra Projects Ltd, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd, Dish TV, and Pan India Network Ltd. are part of the Essel Group companies listed here. RKW Developers Pvt. Ltd is a DHFL group company. It shares common directorships with DHFL group companies listed here. Radius Developers LLP is the company name of Radius Developers. Omkar Realtors and Developers Pvt Ltd is the company name of Omkar Realtors and Developers.

Contributions to INC by defaulter Groups

The total contribution to Indian National Congress (INC) from Yes Bank defaulter groups amounts to ₹ 10 lakhs.

Jetair Pvt Ltd is mentioned as a group company of Jet Airways, as listed here.

Contributions to Shiv Sena by defaulter Groups

The total contribution to Shiv Sena from Yes Bank defaulter groups amounts to ₹ 10 lakhs.

Omkar Realtors and Developers Pvt Ltd is the company name of Omkar Realtors and Developers.

Contributions to MNS and NCP by defaulter Groups

The contribution to Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) from Yes Bank defaulter group amounts to ₹ 25 lakhs and to Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) amounts to ₹ 16 lakhs.

Radius Developers LLP is the company name of Radius Developers. Radius Estate & Developers Pvt Ltd shares common directorships with Radius Developers LLP.

Featured Image: Yes Bank Defaulter groups