A Special Mumbai Sessions Court which deals with the Prevention of Money Laundering Act cases has recently granted bail to the former ICICI Bank Managing Director and CEO Chanda Kochhar. This was in connection with a money laundering case involving the ICICI Bank and the Videocon Group companies.
Mrs. Kochhar was accused of misusing her official role in granting loans to companies of the Videocon community for which she allegedly obtained illicit gratification through her husband, Deepak Kochhar, who has also been accused. About Rs. 64 crores out of the total amount were transferred to Deepak Kochhar’s NuPower Renewables Pvt. Ltd. (NRPL) in an illegal manner.
Advocate Vijay Agarwal, who represents Kochhar, argued that she was co-operating with the investigative team in the case. He also added that under Section 45 of the PMLA Act, she was entitled to bail, as it states that women are entitled to obtain bail even in a non-bailable offense. The Court accepted her bail and imposed a bond of Rs 5 lakh. The Court also stated that Kochhar should not leave the country without permission from the Special Court.
