Deepak, Chanda Kochhar move Bombay High Court challenging ED attachment of property

Former ICICI Bank MD and CEO Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak Kochhar have moved the Bombay High Court challenging the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) attachment of their properties in a money laundering case linked to the Videocon loan scandal [Deepak Kochhar & Ors. v. Enforcement Directorate & Ors.]

The have approached the Court against the order of the Appellate Tribunal under the Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators (Forfeiture of Property) Act (SAFEMA) which upheld the ED's attachment.

The matter was listed on Wednesday before a Bench of Justices Bharati Dangre and Shyam C Chandak which granted time to the ED to file its reply. The matter will be heard next on December 16.

According to Kochhars, the attachment by the ED was in excess of the prescribed procedure

After the ED provisionally attached properties worth over ₹70 crore, it approached the adjudicating authority under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for confirmation.

However, the adjudicating authority refused to confirm the entire attachment.

It confirmed the attachment of a Mumbai flat and wind power assets worth crores, finding substantial evidence of proceeds of crime stemming from alleged quid pro quo arrangements in loan sanctioning.

Aggrieved by the order, the ED approached the Appellate SAFEMA Tribunal, which set aside the authority’s order and upheld the ED’s provisional attachment.

The proceedings arose from a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) case alleging that loans worth ₹1,730 crore were sanctioned to various Videocon Group companies between 2009 and 2011 when Chanda Kochhar was the bank’s chief.

The loans later turned into non-performing assets, allegedly causing losses to ICICI Bank. At the core of the case is a ₹300 crore loan granted to Videocon International Electronics Ltd (VIEL) in August 2009. 

After the loan was disbursed, ₹64 crore was transferred by Videocon to Nupower Renewables Pvt Ltd (NRPL), a firm owned by Deepak Kochhar.

The ED has alleged that this transfer constituted a quid pro quo for the loan sanction.

The tribunal found that Chanda Kochhar had violated conflict-of-interest norms by failing to disclose her family’s ties with Videocon.

It noted that the couple’s flat was transferred between the Kochhar family and the Videocon Group multiple times before being transferred to a family trust in 2016 for just ₹11 lakh, far below its market value.

The Appellate Tribunal also dismissed Kochhar’s plea of ignorance about her husband’s business dealings and found documentary evidence allegedly indicating her shareholding in companies connected to Videocon.

The tribunal observed that Chanda Kochhar had violated conflict-of-interest norms by failing to disclose her family’s ties with Videocon.