Kochhar granted bail in PMLA case
A special PMLA court in Mumbai on Friday granted bail to Chanda Kochhar, former managing director and CEO of ICICI Bank, in connection with a money-laundering case involving a ₹1,875 crore loan to the Videocon Group. The court granted her bail on a personal bond of ₹5 lakh and also asked her to submit her passport to the Enforcement Directorate and to not leave the country without prior permission of the court. On January 30, 2021, while talking cognisance of the charge sheet filed by ED, the court had issued summons to Kochhar and other accused allegedly involved in the money-laundering case. The ED had filed a charge sheet against Kochhars (Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak), and Venugopal Dhoot of Videocon Industries Ltd
(VIL) in November 2020.
MUMBAI: The special PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) court in Mumbai on Friday granted bail to Chanda Kochhar, former MD and CEO of ICICI Bank, in connection with the money-laundering case involving a ₹1,875 crore loan to the Videocon Group, probed by the Enforcement Directorate.
Kochhar on Friday appeared before the special PMLA court, following summons by the court. Her lawyer, advocate Vijay Agarwal, then sought bail for her. The court granted her bail on a personal bond of ₹5 lakh and also asked her to submit her passport to the ED immediately and to not leave the country without prior permission of the court.
On January 30, while taking cognizance of the charge sheet filed by ED, the court issued summons to Kochhar and other accused allegedly involved in the money-laundering case.
The ED had filed a charge sheet against Kochhars (Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak), and Venugopal Dhoot of Videocon Industries Ltd (VIL) on 3 November 2020.
ED’S proceedings are based on a first information report (FIR) registered by the CBI, which had in 2017 initiated an inquiry against the Kochhars after a whistleblower alleged that ICICI Bank had sanctioned a credit facility of about ₹3,250 crore to various entities in contravention of its rules and policies.
In the FIR registered in January
2020, the CBI alleged that six high-value loans worth ₹1,875 crore were given by ICICI Bank to Videocon Group companies between 2009 and 2011. It was alleged that in 2009 a credit facility to Videocon was extended in contravention of rules and policy by the sanctioning committee. At that time Chanda Kochhar was one of the members of the panel.
A loan of ₹300 crore was disbursed to Videocon International Electronics Ltd, a Videocon Group company on 7 September 2009. It is alleged that ₹64 crore of the loan amount was transferred to Nupower Renewables Pvt. Ltd by VIL on 8 September 2009.
ED’S prosecution complaint said that “Chanda Kochchar had asked V.N. Dhoot to take care of her husband’s (Deepak Kochchar’s) interest by putting money in the wind power project of her husband. V.N. Dhoot diverted the loan funds amounting to ₹64 crore (proceeds of crime) to NRPL (the company of her husband).”