The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday questioned former ICICI Bank chief executive Chanda Kochhar, her husband Deepak Kochhar and Videocon promoter Venugopal Dhoot in connection with its money laundering probe into the Videocon loan case. The three had been issued summons by the agency for appearance earlier. Sources said their statements have been recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). They have been grilled by the agency in the past in connection with the case. Last month, the ED had questioned and recorded statements of Chanda Kochhar and Deepak Kochhar over multiple sessions at its office in Delhi. ED is also preparing to analyse details of the Kochhars’ assets and others, so that they can be provisionally attached under the PMLA. Chanda Kochhar’s brother-in-law Rajiv Kochhar has also been grilled by the ED multiple times in the case. The Kochhars and Dhoot were questioned at the ED’s zonal office in Mumbai after it conducted raids on March 1. The searches were conducted at the premises of Chanda Kochhar, her family and Dhoot in Mumbai and Aurangabad (Maharashtra). The ED had registered a criminal case under PMLA earlier this year against Kochhars, Dhoot and others to probe alleged irregularities and corrupt practices in sanctioning Rs 1,875-crore of loans by ICICI Bank to the Videocon. The case registration was based on an FIR registered by the CBI, which has named all the three and Dhoot’s companies — Videocon International Electronics Ltd (VIEL) and Videocon Industries Limited (VIL) — in its case.
