In a major legal setback for former ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak Kochhar, the Appellate Tribunal for Forfeited Property (ATFP) in Delhi has upheld the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) provisional attachment of assets worth ₹78 crore, overturning a 2020 decision by a Mumbai adjudicating authority that had dismissed the attachment.
The tribunal ruled that there exists a prima facie case of money laundering against the Kochhars, citing the ₹64 crore transferred by Videocon Group to Deepak Kochhar’s company, NuPower Renewables, as a quid pro quo for the ₹300 crore loan disbursed by ICICI Bank to Videocon International Electronics Ltd (VIEL) in 2009.
The tribunal, led by Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari (Chairman) and member Balesh Kumar, delivered the ruling on July 3, 2024, stating:
“The issue will ultimately be determined by the trial court, but we find a prima facie case against the respondents for commission of the offence of money laundering and, therefore, the provisional attachment order is justified.”
ICICI Loan Decisions Under Scrutiny Amid Conflict of Interest Allegations
The case traces back to the period between June 2009 and October 2011, during which ICICI Bank sanctioned six rupee term loans totalling ₹1,875 crore to companies within the Videocon Group. Notably, these loans were approved after Chanda Kochhar assumed charge as MD & CEO of the bank.
Of particular concern are two loans—₹300 crore to VIEL and ₹750 crore to Videocon Industries Ltd—on whose sanctioning committees Chanda Kochhar was an active participant. The tribunal sharply criticised her for not recusing herself despite the evident conflict of interest owing to her husband’s business ties with Videocon chairman Venugopal Dhoot.
The tribunal further noted that Chanda Kochhar “not only participated in the loan meetings but sanctioned the loan under the urgent category,” implying direct involvement in the process. Her claim that she was unaware of her husband’s financial dealings was dismissed as untenable:
“She was expected to conduct herself as per bank policy and could not have pleaded ignorance about the affairs of the husband,” the ruling said.
It added that accepting such a defense would open the floodgates for conflicted bank executives to evade accountability, leading to institutional breakdown in fiduciary duties.
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ED Attachment of Properties Reinstated, Allegations Include IPC Section 420
In January 2020, the ED provisionally attached properties worth ₹78 crore belonging to the Kochhars, terming them “proceeds of crime” under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). These included their Mumbai flat in CCI Chambers, other real estate, and ₹10.5 lakh in cash.
However, in November 2020, a PMLA adjudicating authority in Mumbai rejected the attachment on technical grounds. The latest appellate tribunal ruling sets aside that decision, asserting that the ED’s action was valid and necessary.
The tribunal went further to suggest that the facts amount to an offence under Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code (cheating), stating:
“This is taken to be nothing but the commission of crime.”
Despite the ruling, both Chanda and Deepak Kochhar remain out on bail. Chanda Kochhar had resigned from her position at ICICI Bank in October 2018, following the emergence of these allegations. Her legal team, led by Senior Advocate Vikram Chaudhri, maintains that the tribunal’s decision “may be vulnerable on both facts and law”, and further legal challenge is likely.
The case continues to be a high-profile test of corporate governance, banking integrity, and white-collar accountability in India’s financial ecosystem.
