New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate Friday began searches at the residences and offices of former ICICI bank head Chanda Kochhar, her husband Deepak and Videocon CEO Venugopal Dhoot in connection with the ICICI-Videocon loan fraud case.
Agency officials said the raids were being carried out in at least five locations in Mumbai and a few other locations, news agency PTI reported.
The ED registered a criminal case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in February against the Kochhars, Dhoot and others to investigate alleged irregularities and corrupt practices in the sanctioning of Rs 1,875-crore loans by the ICICI bank to the corporate group.
According to the ED, in one instance, Deepak’s company NuPower Renewables received Rs 64 crore from Dhoot just a day after ICICI sanctioned a loan of Rs 300 crore for the account of Videocon International Electronics.
The agency’s sleuths, assisted by the police, are now looking for more evidence.
The CBI had initially filed a preliminary inquiry into the matter following which a case was registered. The ED then took up a parallel investigation to see if kickbacks produced through the loan deal were laundered to purchase assets.
According to the CBI, the ownership of Nupower and Supreme Energy, owned by Dhoot, changed hands through a complex web of shared transactions.
(With PTI inputs)
Also read: ICICI Board must answer for the Chanda Kochhar scandal