ED raids offices, residences of Chanda Kochhar, Dhoot
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday searched at the residences and offices of Chanda Kochhar, Deepak Kochhar and Venugopal Dhoot, Chairman, Videocon Industries in relation to the ICICI Bank-Videocon loan case. A team from Delhi is conducting the searches in Mumbai.
The ED’s case is based on the FIR lodged by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) naming Chanda Kochhar as accused in the ICICI Bank-Videocon loan case.
In February, the ED had registered a criminal case of money laundering against former ICICI Bank MD & CEO Chanda Kochhar, her husband Deepak, Dhoot and others and initiated a probe into alleged irregularities and corrupt practices in sanctioning of loans worth Rs 1,875 crore by the bank to the corporate group.
Its Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act takes cognizance of the Central Bureau of Investigation’s FIR filed last month. An ECIR is the ED’s equivalent of a police First Information Report or FIR.
The agency maintained that Chanda Kochhar got “illegal gratification” through her husband from Videocon Group/Venugopal Dhoot for sanctioning the loan.
According to the agency, Videocon was given loans after Chanda Kochhar took charge as MD and CEO of ICICI Bank on May 1, 2009.
She was in a sanctioning committee which approved loan of Rs 300 crore to Videocon International Electronics Ltd (VIEL) and Rs 750 crore to Videocon Industries Ltd (VIL).
ICICI Bank sanctioned 6 high-value loans to various Videocon companies between June 2009 and October 2011 when Chanda Kochhar was MD and CEO of the bank, said an officer.