Tribunal Finds Prima Facie Money Laundering Case Against Chanda Kochhar, Upholds ED’s Rs. 78 Crore Asset Attachment
In a major setback for former ICICI Bank chief Chanda Kochhar, the Appellate Tribunal for Forfeited Property (ATFP) has upheld the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) provisional attachment of properties worth Rs. 78 crore belonging to her and husband Deepak Kochhar.
The bench of Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari (Chairman) and Balesh Kumar (Member) overturned an earlier ruling by a Mumbai-based adjudicating authority, stating that there is a prima facie case of money laundering against the couple.
The tribunal observed that the Rs. 64 crore transferred by the Videocon Group to Deepak Kochhar’s firm shortly after ICICI Bank sanctioned a ₹300 crore loan to the group amounted to a “quid pro quo”. It rejected Chanda Kochhar’s defence that she was unaware of her husband’s business dealings, asserting that as a top bank executive, she “could not plead ignorance” and was expected to avoid conflicts of interest.
The bench, comprising Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari (Chairman) and Balesh Kumar (Member), stated in its July 3 order that the provisional attachment by the ED was justified. The ruling came in response to ED’s 2020 move to seize Kochhars’ assets, which included a Mumbai flat and ₹10.5 lakh in cash, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The case revolves around ICICI Bank’s sanction of six high-value loans worth ₹1,875 crore to various Videocon Group companies between 2009 and 2011, during Chanda Kochhar’s tenure as MD and CEO. The ED alleges that a ₹64 crore payment from Videocon Group chairman Venugopal Dhoot to Deepak Kochhar’s company was a bribe made just one day after the loan disbursement.
Kochhar was part of the sanctioning committee that approved two of the loans, including ₹300 crore to Videocon International Electronics Ltd and ₹750 crore to Videocon Industries Ltd. The tribunal sharply criticized her for not recusing herself despite an evident conflict of interest, and for approving the loans under the “urgent category”.
The earlier dismissal of the ED’s attachment by the Mumbai PMLA adjudicating authority in November 2020 had found the agency’s claims unconvincing. But the appellate tribunal has now set aside that ruling, saying, “If ignorance of the spouse’s business dealings is accepted as a defence, then conflict of interest norms would be rendered meaningless.”
The tribunal further noted that Kochhar’s actions potentially amount to cheating under Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code.
Both Chanda and Deepak Kochhar are currently out on bail. Chanda Kochhar had resigned from her post at ICICI Bank in October 2018 following allegations of misconduct in the loan sanctioning process.
Senior advocate Vikram Chaudhri, appearing for the Kochhars, argued that the adjudicating authority’s earlier decision was “well-reasoned” and that the tribunal’s latest ruling “may be vulnerable on both facts and law.” The Kochhars may explore further legal remedies.
