ED submits charges against Chanda Kochhar, other in money laundering case

The ED submitted draft charges against former ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar, her businessman-husband and other accused in a special PMLA court here in connection with a money laundering case.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday submitted draft charges against former ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar, her businessman-husband and other accused in a special PMLA court here in connection with a money laundering case.

The court, set up under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, fixed September 6 for farming of charges in the ICICI Bank-Videocon money laundering case. The other accused in the case include Chanda Kochhar's husband Deepak Kochhar and Videocon Group promoter Venugopal Dhoot.

Deepak Kochhar is currently in jail under judicial custody after being arrested by the central probe agency in September last year.

Chanda Kochhar and Dhoot had been granted bail by the special PMLA court in February and March, respectively, following their appearance before the court and honouring the summons issued against them. The two accused have never been arrested in the case. The ED had arrested Deepak Kochhar in September 2020 after it filed a criminal case for money laundering based on an FIR registered by the CBI against the Kochhars, Dhoot and others. The ED had invoked the PMLA for "illegal sanctioning of loans" amounting to Rs 300 crore to the Videocon Group of companies. It has alleged that Rs 64 crore, out of a loan amount of Rs 300 crore sanctioned by a committee of ICICI Bank headed by Chanda Kochhar to Videocon International Electronics Ltd, was transferred to another firm, Nupower Renewables Pvt Ltd (NRPL), by Videocon Industries on September 8, 2009, a day after the loan disbursement.

NRPL was earlier known as Nupower Renewables Ltd (NRL) and is owned by Deepak Kochhar.

"Net revenue of Rs 10.65 crore was generated by NRL from these tainted funds. Therefore, proceeds of crime amounting to Rs 74.65 crore were transferred to or generated in NRPL," the ED had claimed.