Businessman Deepak Kochhar, husband of ex-ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar, today got relief from the Supreme Court. The top court dismissed the Enforcement Directorate’s challenge against the bail granted to him by the Bombay High Court last year.
Mr Kochhar is an accused in the multi-crore ICICI Bank-Videocon money laundering case. He got bail last year in March, more than seven months after he was arrested in the case.
The Enforcement Directorate probe is based on a case registered by the CBI in January 2019 into the alleged irregularities linked to six high-value loans worth around ₹ 1,575 crore to five firms of the Videocon Group between June 2009 and October 2011.
The CBI in its preliminary investigations had found the loans granted were in alleged violation of the established policies. These loans were declared non-performing assets in 2012.
It was also alleged that Chanda Kochhar had misused her official position in granting loans to the accused Videocon group of companies and received illegal gratification, through her husband Deepak Kochhar’s company Supreme Energy Pvt Ltd (SEPL).
Chanda Kochhar had to step down as the ICICI CEO in 2018 because of the investigation. She had denied all charges against her and Mr Kochhar.
She was sacked in 2019 as the bank’s chief executive and managing director.
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