ED grills Matix owner in ICICI-Videocon case

Mumbai, March 3

The Enforcement Directorate here on Sunday interrogated Matix Group owner Nishant Kanodia in its ongoing investigation in an alleged loan scam involving ICICI Bank and the Videocon Group, an official said.

This was the first time the ED had called Kanodia for interrogation. Kanodia is son-in-law of Essar Group’s Chairman Ravi Ruia. The ED had also called ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar for questioning on Sunday. She was interrogated on Saturday too. 

Kanodia, married to Smiti Ruia, is owner of Matix Group and its holding entity Firsthand Holdings Ltd, both based in Mauritius.

The ED’s money-laundering case is based on the FIR registered by the CBI against former ICICI bank CEO Chanda Kochhar, her husband Deepak Kochhar and Videocon Group chairman VN Dhoot and six others.

The CBI’s case pertains to six loans of Rs 1,875 crore sanctioned to the Videocon Group companies between June 2009 and October 2011 at the time Chanda Kochhar was managing director of ICICI Bank and was one of the key committee members.

In May last year, Arvind Gupta, the shareholder-activist who had raised the red flag on the alleged questionable deals between Videocon Group and Deepak Kochhar’s NuPower Renewables, complained to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) claiming that round-tripped investments of Rs 453 crore from Essar Group were routed through Kanodia’s Matix Group and its holding entity Firstland Holdings Ltd. — IANS