The ED alleges that Kochhar, while heading ICICI Bank, illegally routed crores of rupees to NuPower Renewables Ltd, a company run by her husband.
Chanda Kochhar (File Photo: IANS)
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached assets worth Rs 78 crore in connection with a money laundering probe against former ICICI Bank Chairman Chanda Kochhar and others, officials said on Friday.
A provisional order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) has been issued for attachment of the properties that includes Kochhar’s Mumbai-based house and some other assets belonging to a company linked to her, they said.
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The book value of the attached assets is Rs 78 crore, they said.
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The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is probing Kochhar, her husband Deepak Kochhar and others in a case of alleged irregularities and money laundering in giving loans by the bank to the Videocon group.
The Rs 1,875-crore case relates to the alleged irregularities and corrupt practices in the sanction of loan disbursed by ICICI Bank to the Videocon Group between 2009 and 2011.
The ED alleges that Kochhar, while heading ICICI Bank, illegally routed crores of rupees to NuPower Renewables Ltd, a company run by her husband.
In March 2019, the ED searched the residence and office premises of Kochhars and also questioned them along with Videocon chairman Venugopal Dhoot.
Dhoot allegedly invested in NuPower Renewables Ltd through his firm Supreme Energy as quid pro quo for the loans cleared by ICICI Bank.
A large portion of the total Rs 40,000 crore loans to Videocon Group remained unpaid at the end of 2017, and the bank proceeded to declare Rs 2,810 crore of these loans as non-performing asset (NPA).
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