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In the ICICI Bank-Videocon loan matter, the Appellate Tribunal under the Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators (Forfeiture of Property) Act (SAFEMA) has found former ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar guilty of accepting a 64 crore bribe in return for sanctioning a 300 crore loan to the Videocon Group in 2009.
This order overturns the earlier clean chit she received from the PMLA Adjudicating Authority and supports the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) provisional attachment of her assets, framing the transaction as a prima facie case of money laundering. The Tribunal underscored a clear conflict of interest in Kochhar's approval of the loan. Shortly after disbursing the funds to a Videocon entity, 64 crore was traced to NuPower Renewables Pvt. Ltd. (NRPL), a company promoted by her husband Deepak Kochhar. This sum was funneled via Supreme Energy Pvt. Ltd. (SEPL), which is reportedly linked to Videocon's promoter Venugopal Dhoot. While the Tribunal acknowledged that a final determination rests with the Trial Court, it concluded there was sufficient preliminary evidence to justify the attachment order under money laundering charges. The bench of the Appellate Tribunal, while delivering its findings, stated that it could not accept the justification offered by Chanda Kochhar for presiding over the committee meeting that sanctioned a 300 crore loan to the Videocon Group -- an entity she was familiar with. The tribunal observed that Kochhar could not claim ignorance of the relationship and, therefore, her participation in the loan sanctioning process was in clear violation of ICICI Bank's internal rules and policies. The tribunal further noted that immediately after the disbursement of the 300 crore loan, a sum of 64 crore was diverted to NuPower Renewables Pvt. Ltd. (NRPL), where Deepak Kochhar, the respondent and husband of Chanda Kochhar, was managing the company. He held 95% stakes in Supreme Energy Pvt. Ltd. (SEPL), which in turn controlled NRPL. Notably, V.N. Dhoot resigned from SEPL on January 15, 2009, transferring control of the company to Deepak Kochhar. In its order, the tribunal criticized the Adjudicating Authority for ignoring key material evidence and instead relying on irrelevant considerations. It emphasized that the Authority had disproportionately focused on the shareholding structure of NRPL while overlooking the fact that Deepak Kochhar was the Managing Director and in full control of the company's operations. This was further supported by the statement of V.N. Dhoot recorded under Section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, wherein he categorically affirmed that Deepak Kochhar was running the affairs of the company. In January 2020, the ED initially attached assets worth 78 crore belonging to the Kochhars, a decision that was reversed by the PMLA Adjudicating Authority in November the same year. The Appellate Tribunal's latest ruling reinstates the ED's position. Deepak Kochhar was arrested by the ED in September 2020 and later released on bail. In December 2022, both Chanda and Deepak Kochhar were arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), only to be granted interim bail by the Bombay High Court in January 2023. The High Court, in a landmark judgment in February 2024, deemed their arrest unlawful and an abuse of power. (ANI)
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