Kochhar's brother-in-law moves court seeking cancellation of LOC

New Delhi: Former ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar's brother-in-law Rajiv Kochhar moved a Delhi court Wednesday seeking cancellation of look out circular (LOC) against him in an alleged bank loan fraud and money laundering case registered against them.

The court is likely to hear the application on Thursday.

Chanda, her husband Deepak and Rajiv have been questioned by the Enforcement Directorate, which is probing the case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Rajiv has been questioned by the CBI as well in the same case in the past as well. He is the founder of Singapore-based Avista Advisory.

Rajiv was asked by CBI sleuths about the help he had extended to Videocon in relation to a loan from ICICI Bank, which was part of a Rs 400-billion credit given by a consortium of 20 banks to the group's main promoter, Venugopal Dhoot.

The searches were conducted at the premises of Chanda, her family and Dhoot in Mumbai and Aurangabad.

ED registered a criminal case under the PMLA early this year against Chanda, Deepak, Dhoot and others to probe alleged irregularities and corrupt practices in sanctioning Rs 1,875-crore loans by ICICI Bank to the corporate group. The action was based on an FIR registered by the CBI.

CBI has named the three as also Dhoot's companies -- Videocon International Electronics Ltd (VIEL) and Videocon Industries Limited (VIL) -- in its case. The anti-corruption probe agency also named Supreme Energy, a company founded by Dhoot, and NuPower Renewables, a company controlled by Deepak, in the FIR. It has slapped sections of the Indian Penal Code related to criminal conspiracy, cheating and provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act on all the accused.

The CBI alleged that Dhoot had invested in Nupower through his firm Supreme Energy in a quid pro quo to loans cleared by ICICI Bank after Chanda took over as the CEO of the bank on May 1, 2009.