Appellate Tribunal upholds ED seizure of Chanda Kochhar’s assets in Videocon loan deal

Chanda Kochhar guilty of quid pro quo in Videocon loan case

The appellate tribunal under the Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators (Forfeiture of Property) Act, or SAFEMA, has upheld the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) decision to seize assets of former ICICI Bank CEO and MD, Chanda Kochhar. The tribunal said that a Rs.64 crore transaction tied to a Rs.300 crore loan sanctioned to the Videocon Group was “illicit,” affirming the ED’s move to classify Kochhar’s seized properties as “proceeds of crime.” The decision marks a reversal of an earlier order that had questioned the ED’s asset seizure.

Among the assets now cleared for confiscation is a prime flat located in Mumbai’s Churchgate. The Tribunal noted that the flat was routed through a “network of Videocon-related companies” and ended up in Kochhar’s family trust at an undervalued price of Rs.11 lakh. The tribunal criticized her for “gross misconduct” and for failing to disclose a clear conflict of interest when sanctioning large loans to entities connected to the Videocon Group.

Of the total assets seized during the ED’s action, only Rs.10.5 lakh in cash has been returned to Kochhar. The tribunal ordered the refund after she furnished documentation tracing the money’s origin, which was deemed legitimate. The case has its roots in a January 2019 CBI FIR, followed by a lengthy investigation and the filing of a chargesheet over 11,000 pages. The chargesheet named Chanda Kochhar, her husband Deepak Kochhar, and Videocon Group promoter V N Dhoot among others.

The Central allegation is that Kochhar abused her position at the bank to sanction loans that benefited her family. According to the CBI, in August 2009, a committee headed by Kochhar approved a Rs.300 crore term loan to Videocon International Electronics Limited (VIEL). Of this amount, Rs.64 crore made its way to Deepak Kochhar’s firm, NuPower Renewable Limited, as an investment routed through multiple Videocon-linked entities.

The CBI said that during her time as ICICI Bank’s MD and CEO, Kochhar approved loans worth Rs.1,875 crore to six different companies. These were later restructured to Rs.1,730 crore, with an outstanding balance of Rs.1,033 crore still pending repayment. Among these were Rs.300 crore to VIEL and a Rs.750 crore loan to Videocon Industries.

PGurus on March 25, 2018, exposed Chanda Kochhar in a detailed report. This was the first report published by PGurus.[1]

Reference:

[1] ICICI Bank head Chanda Kochhar and husband on the radar of probe agencies for doubtful loans to debt-ridden Videocon Group? – Mar 25, 2018, PGurus.com

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