Kochhar and family got at least Rs 500-cr kickback, will seize assets: ED

ICICI Bank brass to be summoned for questioning in Videocon case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is probing the violation of anti-money laundering laws in the Rs 3,250 crore ICICI-Videocon loan case, has so far established that Rs 500 crore was received as kickbacks by the bank’s former chief Chanda Kochhar and her family. Sources in the probe agency say they would soon seize the Kochhar family's assets created out of the proceeds of the crime.

At present, the enforcement agency is looking at the total quantum of the loan amount which was sanctioned by the bank and being allegedly routed to Deepak Kochhar’s firms. “There's clear evidence of a quid pro quo” in the loans cleared by ICICI Bank under Chanda Kochhar's leadership, said an ED source privy to the development. 

Further, the ED is also planning to summon those who were part of the various credit committees of ICICI Bank to record their statements. 

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in its first information report had named current and former brass of the ICICI Bank including K V Kamath, Sandeep Bakhshi, N S Kannan, Zarin Daruwala, Rajiv Sabharwal, Sonjoy Chatterjee and Homi Khusrokhan. According to the CBI, the loans amounting to Rs 1,575 crore were sanctioned on various dates (2009-2011) by these committees having senior officials of ICICI Bank. The loans have turned non-performing assets (NPAs) resulting into wrongful loss to ICICI Bank and wrongful gain to the borrowers and accused persons,’’ the CBI said in the FIR. 

“It is the process and part of the investigation to check whether the people who were in the sanction committee were aware about the fraud which has been brewing for long and also to know their stand point on the quid pro quo,” said an official privy to the development.  

Without sharing further details, the official said it was not necessary that these people would be aware about the percentage of commission Kochhar may have received for the case. 

A nominal commission for the sanctioning loan in a genuine case is part of usual banking business, but when the commission gets fixed depending on the quantum of loan, it is a serious crime, the official said. 

ED is of view that same modus operandi might have been used in sanctioning loans to other corporates other than Videocon group of companies. “We are currently focussing on the money trail of Rs 64 crore which went to Deepak Kochhar’s Nupower renewables. The probe will reach out to other loan accounts also in due course, he said. 

The probe agency is evaluating the statements recorded by the Kochhar family and other related entities and looking at the probable links between them.