Tribunal upholds attachment of Kochhars’ assets

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The tribunal overturned an earlier order by a Mumbai authority that had rejected the ED’s attachment. It noted that Rs 64 crore was transferred by Videocon Group to Deepak Kochhar’s company shortly after ICICI Bank cleared a Rs 300-crore loan to Videocon, calling it a clear case of “quid pro quo”.

The tribunal rejected Chanda Kochhar’s claims that she was unaware of her husband’s dealings and said she “cannot plead ignorance”, especially since she was part of the loan approval committee that cleared the funds under the “urgent” category.

The case involves loans totalling Rs 1,875 crore disbursed between 2009 and 2011 to Videocon Group companies after Kochhar became the bank’s MD and CEO. The ED alleges the Kochhars received a Rs 64-crore bribe a day after one such loan was cleared. The attached assets include their Churchgate flat in Mumbai and Rs 10.5 lakh in cash.