Ex-ICICI chief's hubby arrested

Businessman and the husband of former ICICI Bank MD and CEO Chanda Kochhar was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on Monday, in connection with the ICICI Bank-Videocon loan case.

The agency had, in January last year, registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, on the basis of an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation for alleged illegal sanctioning of loans amounting to Rs 1,875 crore to the Videocon Group of Companies.

In the past too, the agency has questioned Chanda's husband Deepak in connection with the case. He was again questioned on Monday and placed under arrest.

“Investigations under PMLA revealed that loans were refinanced and new loans aggregating to Rs. 1,730 crore were sanctioned to M/s Videocon Industries Limited (VIL) and its group companies and these loans became Non Performing Assets (NPA) for ICICI Bank on 30.06.2017,” the agency had earlier stated.

Investigation further revealed that Rs 64 crore of the amount of Rs 300 crore sanctioned by a committee headed by Chanda Kochhar to M/s Videocon International Electronics Limited, was transferred to M/s Nupower Renewables Pvt. Ltd. (NRPL, earlier known as M/s NuPower Renewables Limited, a company of Deepak Kochhar, by the VIL on September 8, just a day after the disbursal of loan by the ICICI Bank.

Further, a net revenue of Rs. 10.65 crore was generated by the NRL from these tainted funds. Therefore, proceeds of crime amounting to Rs 74.65 crore were transferred to NRPL, the agency had stated.

According to the ED, investigation had revealed that Chanda Kochhar and her family acquired the apartment at Mumbai owned by a company of the Videocon Group, by way of acquiring that company through her family trust at a nominal price by creating book entries.

Accordingly, assets amounting to Rs 74.54 crore held in the name of M/s Nupower Renewables Pvt. Ltd. and its subsidiaries; the flat located in Mumbai (book value of Rs 3.5 crore); an amount of Rs 10.5 lakh have already been seized by the ED from the company of Deepak Kochhar; in all, Rs 78.15 crore, being the proceeds of crime, have been provisionally attached by the ED under PMLA.