Mumbai, September 8: The Special PMLA Court on Tuesday announced Deepak Kochhar to be remanded to Enforcement Directorate custody till September 19 in ICICI Bank-Videocon case. The husband of former ICICI Bank MD & CEO Chanda Kochar was presented in the Prevention of Money Laundering Act Court by ED in connection with the money laundering case.
Earlier on Monday, the Enforcement Directorate officials arrested Deepak Kochhar at around 8.30 pm, after questioning him in the afternoon. Reports claim that Deepak was not cooperating with the investigation and hence was arrested by the premier investigative agency. PNB Fraud Case: Interpol Issued Red Corner Notice Against Nirav Modi’s Wife in Money Laundering Case.
It is to be known that ED is investigating the money laundering case after another investigative agency -- Central Board of Investigation -- booked the Kochhars, Videocon Group chairman Venugopal Dhoot and six others over alleged quid pro quo in loan transactions to Videocon by ICICI. However, both Kochhars and Dhoot have denied the allegations.
Apart from investigating the role of Kochhar's in the loans transactions to Venugopal Dhoot's firm, ED in its FIR had also alleged that Chanda Kochhar received a kickback through her husband Deepak Kochhar. The NuPower CEO had maintained that fund received from Videocon was a business transaction and had nothing to with ICICI Bank sanctioning the loan.
Following this, ED provisionally attached assets of Kochhars worth Rs 78 crores, which also includes their apartment in South Mumbai. As per the details, the apartment was bought at a price lower than the market rate via a firm -- Quality Techno Advisors -- in 2016 where Videocon Group allegedly had a stake. Apart from ED and CBI, Kochhars and Dhoot are being probed by the Income Tax Department and the Serious Fraud Investigation Office of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 08, 2020 03:11 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).