Special CBI Court Issues Production Warrant Against Corporate Lobbyist Deepak Talwar's Aide Yasmeen Kapoor

A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court has issued a production warrant against Yasmeen Kapoor, a close aide of corporate lobbyist Deepak Talwar, in a money laundering case relating to an illicit aviation deal which caused losses to Air India.

Special CBI Judge Anuradha Shukla Bhardwaj passed the order recently directing Tihar Jail authorities to produce her before the court.

Yasmeen Kapoor, who is currently in judicial custody, is lodged in the Tihar Jail in another case.

According to the court order copy, it has been alleged that the accused (Yasmeen Kapoor) is a co-conspirator of Deepak Talwar in the criminal conspiracy to launder proceeds of crime and she was a director or shareholder in many companies run by the accused Talwar.

The case is connected to negotiations which deliberately favored foreign private airlines to cause losses to Air India.

Earlier, the same court cancelled the anticipatory bail granted to Yasmeen Kapoor after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) accused her of misusing the relief granted to her.

She was granted anticipatory bail on March 22, while Talwar is still in judicial custody.

Talwar was deported from Dubai in January this year.

The CBI charge sheet has named Talwar’s close aide Yasmeen Kapoor, Maya B Puri, Stone Travel Private Limited, Cedar Travels, Deepak Talwar & Associates as well as Asia Field Limited.

It may be recalled that the CBI had on July 26 taken Talwar into custody on July 26, after the judge dismissed his anticipatory bail application. Consequently, he was sent to judicial custody on August 9.

Allegedly, Talwar acted as a middleman during talks and made Air India give up its profit making routes as well as timings, in order to favor foreign private airlines like Qatar Airways, Emirates and Air Arabia.