Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak Kochhar have approached the Bombay High Court challenging the Appellate Tribunal’s order under the Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators (Forfeiture of Property) Act (SAFEMA), which upheld the Enforcement Directorate’s attachment of their properties in an alleged money laundering case linked to the Videocon Group.
HC Seeks ED’s Response; Hearing on December 16
A bench of Justices Bharati Dangre and Shyam Chandak on Wednesday granted time to the ED to file its reply, keeping the Kochhars’ plea for hearing on December 16.
The Kochhars have claimed that the ED’s attachment of their properties, valued at ₹70 crore, was carried out in excess of the prescribed legal procedure.
Partial Confirmation by Adjudicating Authority
After issuing a provisional attachment order, the ED approached the adjudicating authority under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for confirmation.
The adjudicating authority refused to confirm the entire attachment, but upheld the attachment of a Mumbai flat and wind power assets worth several crores, citing substantial evidence of proceeds of crime from alleged quid pro quo arrangements in loan sanctioning.
SAFEMA Appellate Tribunal Upholds ED Stand
The ED challenged the partial rejection before the Appellate SAFEMA Tribunal, which subsequently upheld the provisional attachment, prompting the Kochhars to move the High Court.
Kochhars Facing Multiple Probes Linked to Videocon Loans
The couple remains under investigation in connection with the Videocon loan case and 12 other companies. Chanda Kochhar is booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act for allegedly sanctioning a ₹1,730-crore loan to the Videocon Group during her tenure as ICICI Bank CEO.
The ED and CBI have arrested Chanda Kochhar, Deepak Kochhar, and Videocon founder Venugopal Dhoot. The CBI FIR also names Nupower Renewables (NRL) managed by Deepak Kochhar, Supreme Energy, Videocon International Electronics Ltd, and Videocon Industries Ltd as accused entities.
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