ICICI-Videocon case: Chanda Kochhar, husband appear before ED again

Company News

Former ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak Kochhar on Tuesday again appeared before the Enforcement Directorate here in connection with an alleged bank loan fraud andm oney laundering case registered against them.

They were questioned by the agency on Monday for over eight hours. This was the first time they were grilled in Delhi.

They have been questioned by the agency in Mumbai in March.
The couple arrived at the Enforcement Directorate's headquarters in Khan Market here around their scheduled appearance time of 11:30 am, official sources said.

While it was not immediately known as to what was the ED's line of questioning on Monday, sources said the two were questioned about their personal and official dealings with the Videocon group.
Their statement was recorded under the Prevention of Money LaunderingAct (PMLA) by the investigating officer of the case, they said.

The Kochhars were supposed to depose before the agency early this month but they had then sought an extension of time and were allowed, they said.

Chanda Kochhar's brother-in-law and Deepak's brother, Rajiv Kochhar, has also been grilled by the ED multiple times in the case a few days ago here.Rajiv Kochhar has been questioned by the CBI in the same case in the past as well.


 He is the founder of Singapore-based Avista Advisory and was questioned by the CBI about his company's role in the restructuring of the loan, the sources said.

Videocon loan row: CBI lookout circulars against Chanda Kochhar and husband

Companies News:

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has issued lookout circulars (LOC) against former ICICI Bank chief executive and managing director Chanda Kochhar, her husband Deepak Kochhar, and Videocon Group's Venugopal Dhoot. The development comes weeks after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) registered a criminal case against them for alleged money laundering .

At the behest of the CBI, lookout circulars were issued against Kochhar's husband and Dhoot for all airports last year. According to The Economics Times, this is the first time LOC has been issued against Chanda Kochhar.

“LOCs were filed after the FIR and are mandatory in cases where such economic offences are alleged. In recent times, keeping an eye on travel plans is a top concern for regulators,” ET quoted the official as saying.

Earlier this month, ED had registered a criminal case for alleged money laundering against Kochhar, her husband, Venugopal Dhoot, and others, to probe alleged irregularities and corrupt practices in sanctioning a Rs 1,875-crore loan by the bank to the corporate group.

They said the central probe agency had filed an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, taking cognizance of a CBI complaint filed on the matter last month.

An ECIR is the ED's equivalent of a police FIR.

The officials said the agency would probe if alleged kickbacks generated in the loan deal were laundered to create tainted assets.
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 The ED is soon expected to summon the accused named in the ECIR. The list of accused in the ED case is the same as that of the CBI, they said.