The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a charge sheet, before a special court in Mumbai on Tuesday, 3 November, reported The Indian Express (IE).
This pertains to a case of alleged money laundering against the former Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of ICICI Bank Chanda Kochhar, her husband Deepak Kochhar and Videocon Group Chief Venugopal Dhoot.
According to IE, the ED presented “five trunks” of supporting documents before the court.
The court took record of the charge sheet being filed and said that “the charge sheet is pending for scrutiny of five trunks of original documents”. The case has been adjourned to 11 November, reported IE.
MORE ABOUT THE CASE
ED’s case is with regard to allegedly illegal sanctioning of loans worth Rs 1,875 crore by ICICI Bank while Kochhar was working there in a top position.
It was reportedly discovered, according to ED, that loans were refinanced and new loans adding up to Rs 1,730 crore were sanctioned to Videocon Industries Limited (VIL) and its group companies. Further, these loans became non-performing assets for ICICI Bank in 2017.
WHAT DOES ED ALLEGE?
The ED has, according to IE, alleged the following:
- A panel helmed by Chanda Kochhar sanctioned a loan of Rs 300 crore to VIEL in 2009.
- Out of this amount, it alleged, at least Rs 64 crore was siphoned by VIEL to NuPower Renewables, a company owned by Kochhar’s husband on 8 September, 2009, a day after the loan was disbursed by the bank.
- A net revenue of Rs 10.65 crore was generated by NuPower Renewables using these “tainted funds”.
According to IE’s sources at least eight other entities, including Nu Power Renewables Ltd, Videocon International Electronics Ltd (VIEL), Videocon Industries Ltd and Supreme Energy Pvt Ltd, have been named in the charge sheet.
BACKGROUND
An investigation in March by IE revealed that a Rs 64-crore loan was offered by a firm owned in large part by Videocon’s Venugopal Dhoot to a firm co-owned by Dhoot and Deepak Kochhar, ICICI CEO and MD Chanda Kochhar’s husband, following which the ownership of Dhoot’s entity – which accorded the loan – was transferred to a trust headed by Kochhar for Rs 9 lakh.
(With inputs from The Indian Express.)
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