Chanda Kochhar found guilty in Rs 64-crore Videocon bribe case: Report

India Today

4 days ago

Former ICICI Bank CEO and MD Chanda Kochhar has been found guilty of receiving a Rs 64 crore bribe in return for approving a Rs 300 crore loan to the Videocon Group, reported The Times of India.An appellate tribunal gave this ruling in an order dated July 3. The tribunal said that the money was routed through Kochhar's husband Deepak Kochhar, using a company connected to Videocon.The tribunal said the payment was a clear case of quid pro quo and supported the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) case.It said the ED had provided strong documentary evidence and statements recorded under Section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), which were legally admissible. These, the tribunal said, clearly showed that Chanda Kochhar did not disclose her conflict of interest and that the loan approval violated ICICI Bank's internal rules.The tribunal explained that the Rs 64 crore was sent from Videocon's group company SEPL to NuPower Renewables Pvt Ltd (NRPL), a company controlled by Deepak Kochhar. This transaction took place just one day after ICICI Bank disbursed the Rs 300 crore loan to Videocon.Although the ownership of NRPL was initially shown to be with Videocon's chairman Venugopal Dhoot, the tribunal observed that the real control rested with Deepak Kochhar, who also served as the managing director of the company. This, it said, clearly pointed to a conflict of interest, as Chanda Kochhar did not declare these ties when approving the loan.The tribunal said, as per the report, 'The allegations stand corroborated by evidence and the statements recorded under Section 50 of the PMLA Act.' It added that the money trail was direct and demonstrated misuse of power for personal gain.The tribunal also criticised a November 2020 decision by an adjudicating authority that had allowed the release of attached assets belonging to Chanda Kochhar and her family. The authority had found insufficient grounds to hold the assets, but the tribunal disagreed sharply.It stated that the earlier authority had ignored key facts and drawn conclusions not supported by the record. 'The adjudicating authority ignored crucial material facts and drew conclusions that contradict the record. Therefore, we cannot endorse its findings,' the tribunal said, as reported by TOI.The appellate tribunal supported the ED's action in attaching the assets of the Kochhars. It said that the attachment was based on a clear timeline of events and strong documentary proof.The tribunal concluded that the entire process, from loan sanctioning to the transfer of funds and the routing of money into a company controlled by Deepak Kochhar, showed clear misuse of position and violation of ethical standards.- EndsTrending Reel
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