Venugopal Dhoot appears before court in money laundering case; granted bail

MUMBAI: Following summons by the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act court, Venugopal Dhoot of Videocon group companies appeared before it on Friday and was granted bail on a bond of Rs 5 lakh.
The court directed him to surrender his passport immediately and not leave the country without its permission.
On February 12, co-accused former ICICI Bank CEO, Chanda Kochhar, also came before the court and was granted bail.
Chanda Kochhar’s husband, Deepak Kochhar, is in custody since September and was produced before the court today.
Taking cognisance of the Enforcement Directorate’s chargesheet against the accused last month, the court had said that the material produced by the investigating agency constitutes offences under PMLA.
“I am of the opinion that this material is sufficient to proceed against the accused persons,” the court said.
It also said ED was granted leave to continue with the investigation and take action as per the law.
Chanda Kochhar took charge of ICICI Bank as its managing director and CEO in May 2009, after which she allegedly illegally sanctioned loans to Videocon companies.
The loans of Rs 1,875 crore to the companies allegedly turned into non-performing assets (NPA) in 2017 and caused losses to the bank.
It is alleged in lieu of the loans, Chanda Kochhar received Rs 64 crore kickbacks through her husband’s company Nupower Renewables from Videocon.
“The flat situated at CCI, Mumbai, was purchased by the family trust of Chanda Kochhar from proceeds of the crime for a minuscule sum of Rs 11 lakh, when its actual price was around Rs 5 crore,” ED alleged.