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Gautam Thapar

About Gautam Thapar

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Who is Gautam Thapar?

Gautam Thapar is the promoter of Avantha Group and former chairman of CG Power and Industrial Solutions. He belongs to the third generation of the family business established in 1919 by his grandfather Karam Chand Thapar.
 
Gautam Thapar received his education from Doon School in Dehradun and graduated from St. Stephen's College in Delhi. Later, he studied chemical engineering at the Pratt Institute in the United States.
The 60-year-old tycoon played a significant role in turning the organisation into a behemoth and in getting it renamed as the Avantha Group of Companies. Thapar progressed through the ranks and helped the organisation through a strategic revival.
 
He became the Group Chairman in 2006 and rebranded the conglomerate as Avantha in 2007. He reached the helm of affairs in the family business and was considered a corporate turnaround specialist after reviving a few of the group's loss-making firms.
 
Thapar is the President of Thapar University, National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE), and The Aspen Institute India. In 2008, he received Ernst & Young's 'Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Manufacturing'.
 

Gautam Thapar's arrest

On August 5, 2021, Gautam Thapar was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a Rs 500-crore money laundering case. He was held under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
 
The agency told the Delhi High Court that around Rs 500 crore worth of proceeds of crime were laundered through Oyster Buildwell Pvt Ltd (OBPL), Jhabua Power Limited (JPL), Jhabua Power Investment Ltd. (JPIL), Avantha Power & Infrastructure Ltd (APIL), Avantha Realty Ltd. (ARL), etc, which were controlled and beneficially owned directly or indirectly by Gautam Thapar.
 
The ED has been probing an alleged transaction between Thapar's firm Avantha Realty and YES Bank co-founder Rana Kapoor, who is already being investigated by the agency.
 
Thapar faced the first setback when Avantha Realty, one of his group companies, borrowed Rs 515 crore from YES Bank in 2017. Two years later, that loan transaction was then defaulted on.
 
According to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), he was accused of causing a loss of Rs 466 crore to YES Bank. Since then, the businessman has faced multiple charges for alleged financial scams, corruption and money laundering.
 
In 2019, Thapar was removed as chairman of the board of directors of CG Power, an Avantha Group flagship, following allegations of ‘irregular transactions’ in the company.
 
Markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) also barred him and some other executives from accessing the securities market. It was his association and financial dealings with YES Bank and its founder Rana Kapoor that triggered intense scrutiny of his business transactions, amid allegations of financial fraud and money laundering.

Latest Updates on Gautam Thapar

Passes final order in CG Power fund diversion case; also fines Avantha Holdings Rs 5 cr and deal lenders IndusInd Bank and Aditya Birla Finance Rs 1 cr each

Updated On: 04 Oct 2022 | 8:53 PM IST

CBI filed a charge sheet against Rana Kapoor, the then MD and CEO, Yes Bank, and Gautam Thapar, Chairman, Avantha Group and Oyster Buildwell in connection with Rs 466.51 crore bank fraud case

Updated On: 20 Sep 2022 | 6:29 AM IST

Kapoor is also co-accused with Thapar in another case related to alleged diversion of public money in Yes Bank in exchange for a high-end property at an upscale neighbourhood of Delhi, officials said.

Updated On: 19 Sep 2022 | 11:00 PM IST

The CBI has questioned YES Bank founder and its former CEO and MD, Rana Kapoor in connection with alleged diversion of over Rs 466 crore in the bank during 2017-19 by Avantha group promoter Gautam Thapar, officials said.

Updated On: 12 Apr 2022 | 12:25 AM IST

Bombay HC on Friday granted bail to Gautam Thapar, the promoter of Avantha Group in connection with the Yes Bank fraud case involving a transaction of Rs 307 crore with the realty company

Updated On: 25 Mar 2022 | 8:35 PM IST

The detailed order of the high court is awaited

Updated On: 03 Mar 2022 | 3:05 AM IST

Kapoor and Thapar, however, will not walk out of jail as they are in judicial custody in connection with some other cases

Updated On: 16 Feb 2022 | 10:32 PM IST

The Delhi High Court Thursday dismissed a plea by Avantha Group promoter Gautam Thapar, arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with a Rs 500-crore money laundering case

Updated On: 30 Sep 2021 | 12:53 PM IST

The Delhi High Court Monday asked the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to respond to a plea by Avantha Group promoter Gautam Thapar, arrested in connection with a Rs 500-crore money laundering case

Updated On: 16 Aug 2021 | 3:30 PM IST

A Delhi court extended by ten days the custodial interrogation of Avantha Group promoter Gautam Thapar, arrested by Enforcement Directorate in connection with a Rs 500 crore money laundering case

Updated On: 05 Aug 2021 | 8:58 PM IST

Group insiders and analysts say that the group could never recover from the rapid expansion drive, along with some failed foreign buyouts

Updated On: 05 Aug 2021 | 6:02 AM IST

Thapar was arrested on Tuesday night after the agency carried out raids against him and his linked businesses in Delhi and Mumbai

Updated On: 05 Aug 2021 | 12:47 AM IST

The agency arrested him following searches at 14 locations, including Mumbai and Delhi.

Updated On: 03 Aug 2021 | 11:49 PM IST

The CBI on Thursday carried out searches at locations in Mumbai, Delhi and Gurgaon.

Updated On: 24 Jun 2021 | 7:26 PM IST

Raises Rs 1,492 crore from deal; Societe Generale picks up 0.62% for Rs 153 crore, identity of other buyers not known

Updated On: 09 Feb 2021 | 9:24 PM IST

Within days of the unearthing of the fraud involving siphoning off money raised using company assets as collateral, Thapar was removed by the company board on August 29, 2019

Updated On: 21 Oct 2020 | 6:28 PM IST

Besides Thapar, the other officials banned are CG Power's former Chief Financial Officer V R Venkatesh and former directors Madhav Acharya and B Hariharan

Updated On: 11 Mar 2020 | 9:55 PM IST

The corporate affairs ministry had filed an application in the NCLT seeking the appointment of an independent auditor to reopen the accounts of CG Power & Industrial Solution from 2014-15 to 2018-19

Updated On: 06 Mar 2020 | 1:32 AM IST

According to Thapar, the events at CG Power have been orchestrated by the lenders

Updated On: 13 Feb 2020 | 5:33 PM IST

Some of the country's biggest and most-storied businessmen saw their fortunes fade in 2019.

Updated On: 31 Dec 2019 | 8:06 AM IST