The Appellate Tribunal under the Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators (Forfeiture of Property) Act, 1976 has found former ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak Kochhar guilty in a money laundering case linked to the ICICI-Videocon loan scam case.
Setting aside an earlier verdict of the Adjudicating Authority, the Tribunal observed that the Authority recorded its finding ignoring the material on record and by taking irrelevant facts into consideration.
It further upheld the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) attachment of a Mumbai flat, where the Kochhar family has been residing since 1996, along with wind power assets acquired by NRPL worth crores of rupees, and cash of Rs 10.5 lakh.
The Tribunal said it found substantial evidence of proceeds of crime stemming from alleged quid pro quo arrangements in loan sanctioning.
On January 22, 2019, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered a case alleging criminal conspiracy and cheating in the sanctioning of loans worth Rs 1,730 crore to various Videocon Group companies between June 2009 and October 2011.
As per the national agency, these loans subsequently turned into non-performing assets, causing wrongful loss to the ICICI Bank and wrongful gain to the borrowers.
On August 26, 2009, a meeting chaired by Chanda Kochhar sanctioned loan worth Rs 300 crore to Videocon International Electronics Limited (VIEL).
The loan was disbursed on September 7, 2009. On September 8, 2009, VIEL transferred Rs 64 crore to Nupower Renewables Private Limited (NRPL), a company allegedly managed by Deepak Kochhar, it added.
Investigation revealed that though Videocon appeared to hold majority shares in NRPL on paper, actual control rested with Deepak Kochhar, who served as Managing Director.
The Adjudicating Authority had originally refused to confirm the provisional attachment order, finding that ED had failed to establish the properties as proceeds of crime.
The lower court concluded that the investment of Rs 64 crore by Videocon Group was in its own company (NRPL) and that the flat had been owned by Deepak Kochhar since 1996, dismissing allegations of illegal gratification.
The Appellate Tribunal found compelling evidence that Chanda Kochhar violated banking regulations by failing to disclose conflicts of interest.
It held that the sanction of loan of Rs 300 crore by ICICI Bank to the Videocon Group of Industries where Chanda Kochhar remained part of the committee was against the rules and policy of the bank.
There was enough documentary evidence to prove that the flat was mortgaged to Videocon Group as early as 1996, demonstrating a clear obligation to disclose conflicts of interest, it noted.
The Tribunal rejected Chanda Kochhar’s claims of being unaware of her husband’s business dealings. It said the argument was made contrary to the facts available on record and sufficient to demonstrate that even Chanda Kochhar herself was the shareholder of CFL.