Chanda Kochhar's husband Deepak Kochhar arrested by ED in ICICI-Videocon case

Former ICICI CEO Chandra Kochhar's husband Deepak Kochhar has been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in the ICICI-Videocon case on Monday evening on charges of money laundering. Earlier in the day, he was called in for questioning at the ED office in Delhi.

The action comes almost a year after the ED filed a money laundering case last year on the basis of a complaint registered by the CBI against Videocon Director Venugopal Dhoot, his companies (Videocon International Electronics Ltd and Videocon Industries Ltd), as well as former ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak Kochhar.

Earlier in January 2020, the Enforcement Directorate had attached properties with a market value of about Rs 600 crore (book value Rs 78 crore), including Chanda Kochhar's Rs 3.5-crore apartment in Mumbai in connection with a money laundering case against them.

A provisional order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) was issued for attachment of properties. While the book value of these assets is Rs 78.15 crore, the market value is about Rs 600 crore, officials had said.

The attached properties included flat, land, and plant and machinery of a windfarm project based in Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a statement had said these assets are "in possession" of Kochhar, her husband Deepak Kochhar and the companies owned and controlled by him.

(With ageny inputs)