Tribune News Service
New Delhi, May 13
Former ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak Kochhar appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday in connection with an alleged bank loan fraud and money laundering case registered against them.
The couple arrived at the Enforcement Directorate’s headquarters in Khan Market here shortly before their scheduled appearance time of 11 am, official sources said.
They said the two were required to assist the investigating officer (IO) in taking the probe forward and their statement would be recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The Kochhars were supposed to depose before the agency early this month but they had then sought an extension of time and were allowed, they said.
Chanda Kochhar’s brother-in-law (Deepak’s brother) Rajiv Kochhar has also been grilled by the ED multiple times in the case a few days ago here. Rajiv Kochhar has been questioned by the CBI in the same case in the past as well.
He is the founder of Singapore-based Avista Advisory and was questioned about the role of his company in the restructuring of the loan by the CBI, the sources said.
Rajiv Kochhar was asked by the CBI sleuths about the help he had extended to Videocon in relation to the loan from ICICI Bank, which was part of a Rs 400-billion credit given by a consortium of 20 banks to the group of main promoter, Venugopal Dhoot.
The Kochhar couple has been questioned in the past too at the ED zonal office in Mumbai after the central agency conducted raids in this case on March 1. The searches were conducted at the premises of Chanda Kochhar, her family and Venugopal Dhoot of Videocon Group in Maharashtra’s Mumbai and Aurangabad.
The ED has registered a criminal case under the PMLA early this year against Chanda Kochhar, Deepak Kochhar, Dhoot and others to probe alleged irregularities and corrupt practices in sanctioning of Rs 1,875-crore loans by ICICI Bank to the corporate group. This ED action was based on a CBI FIR.
The CBI has named Videocon International Electronics Ltd and Videocon Industries Limited in its case. — PTI
Money laundering case
- The two were required to assist the investigating officer (IO) in taking the probe forward and their statement would be recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act
- The Kochhar couple has been questioned in the past too at the ED zonal office in Mumbai after the central agency conducted raids in this case on March 1
- The searches were conducted at the premises of Chanda Kochhar, her family and Venugopal Dhoot of Videocon Group in Maharashtra’s Mumbai and Aurangabad
from The Tribune http://bit.ly/2Hkdcwo
via Today’s News Headlines
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