ICICI-Videocon PMLA case: HC grants bail to Deepak Kochhar

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Thursday granted bail to Deepak Kochhar, husband of former ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar, in a money laundering case registered by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Kocchar had approached the high court after a special court in the city rejected his bail plea in December last year.

Justice P D Naik of the high court, while granting bail to Kochhar on Thursday, directed him to furnish a personal bond of Rs three lakh.

The high court also directed Kochhar to surrender his passport before the special court in the city hearing the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) cases, and asked him to co-operate with the probe.

Kochhar was arrested by the ED in September last year under the PMLA in the alleged ICICI Bank-Videocon money laundering case.

The ED had registered the money laundering case following an FIR by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against the Kochhar couple, Videocon Group promoter Venugopal Dhoot, and others for allegedly causing loss to the ICICI Bank by sanctioning loans to the Videocon Group of companies in contravention of the policies of the ICICI Bank.

Kochhar had argued that the ED had taken note of all the alleged proceeds of the crime in the case, so there was no chance of him creating any third party rights or interfering with the probe if out on bail.

He had also said in his bail plea that the entire case against him was based on documentary evidence, which was already in the ED’s possession, and hence there was no question of him tampering with the evidence when out on bail.

The detailed order of the high court in the case is awaited.