ICICI Bank-Videocon case: ED arrests Chanda Kochhar's husband Deepak Kochhar

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday arrested Deepak Kochhar, the husband of former ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar, in connection with a money laundering case arising out of an investigation into "illegally" sanctioning loans worth Rs 1,875 crore to Videocon Group of companies.

He was apprehended in Mumbai under sections of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), officials said.

The ED had initiated an investigation following CBI registering a case against Kochhars and Dhoot among others in January last year on charges of illegally sanctioning loans worth Rs 1,875 crore to Videocon Group of companies. Kochhars are accused of receiving illegal gratification from Videocon for sanctioning the loans.

The ED had in January this year attached assets of former ICICI CEO Chanda Kochchar and her family worth Rs 78.15 crore, including a Rs 3.5 crore flat in Mumbai, in connection with a money laundering case.

The assets provisionally attached under PMLA consisted of the flat, land, seized cash, plant and machinery, including wind farm projects located in Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, which are in the name of Chanda Kochhar, her husband Deepak Kochhar and the companies owned or controlled by the latter. Earlier in March 2019, the ED conducted searches at the premises of Kochhars and Dhoot.

According to the ED, loans were refinanced and a new loan was sanctioned to Videocon Industries Limited (VIL) and its group companies and these became Non Performing Assets (NPA) in June 2017.

Out of the loan of Rs 300 crore sanctioned by a committee headed by Chanda Kochhar to Videocon International Electronics Limited, the ED said, its investigations found that Rs 64 crore was transferred to Nupower Renewables Pvt Ltd, a company of Deepak Kochhar, just one day after disbursement of loan by ICICI Bank.

"Further, net revenue of Rs 10.65 crore was generated by NRPL from these tainted funds. Therefore, proceeds of crime amounting to Rs 74.65 crores were transferred to/generated in NRPL. Investigation also revealed that Chanda Kochhar and her family acquired the apartment at Mumbai owned by one of the Videocon group Companies, by way of acquiring that company through her family trust at a nominal price by creating book entries," the ED had said.

In its FIR, the CBI had claimed that Dhoot gave Rs 64 crore in 2010 through a fully-owned firm to NuPower Renewables Pvt Ltd he had set up with Deepak Kochhar and two of his relatives. It was also claimed that Dhoot transferred ownership of the company to a trust owned by Deepak Kochhar six months later for Rs nine lakh after he received the loan from ICICI.

The investigators claimed that Chanda Kochar was instrumental in sanctioning these loans "dishonestly by abusing her official position".