oppn parties The Kochhar-Dhoot Case: Will ED Succeed In Proving Quid Pro Quo?

News Snippets

  • 2nd ODI: Rohit Sharma roars back to form with a scintillating ton as India beat England by 4 wickets in a high scoring match in Cuttack
  • Supreme Court will appoint an observer for the mayoral poll in Chandigarh
  • Government makes it compulsory for plastic carry bag makers to put a QR or barcode with their details on such bags
  • GBS outbreak in Pune leaves 73 ill with 14 on ventilator. GBS is a rare but treatable autoimmune disease
  • Madhya Pradesh government banned sale and consumption of liquor at 19 religious sites including Ujjain and Chitrakoot
  • Odisha emerges at the top in the fiscal health report of states while Haryana is at the bottom
  • JSW Steel net profit takes a massive hit of 70% in Q3
  • Tatas buy 60% stake in Pegatron, the contractor making iPhone's in India
  • Stocks return to negative zone - Sensex sheds 329 points to 76190 and Nifty loses 113 points to 23092
  • Bumrah, Jadeja and Yashasvi Jaiswal make the ICC Test team of the year even as no Indian found a place in the ODI squad
  • India take on England in the second T20 today at Chennai. They lead the 5-match series 1-0
  • Ravindra Jadeja excels in Ranji Trophy, takes 12 wickets in the match as Saurashtra beat Delhi by 10 wickets. All other Team India stars disappoint in the national tournament
  • Madhya Pradesh HC says collectors must not apply NSA "under political pressure and without application of mind"
  • Oxfam charged by CBI over violation of FCRA
  • Indian students in the US have started quitting part-time jobs (which are not legally allowed as per visa rules) over fears of deportation
Manipur Chief Minister Biren Singh resigns after meeting Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief J P Nadda /////// President's Rule likely in Manipur
oppn parties
The Kochhar-Dhoot Case: Will ED Succeed In Proving Quid Pro Quo?

By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2020-09-08 20:03:43

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.

With the details of the alleged shady transactions between the Videocon group and Deepak Kochhar, the husband of the discredited former chief of ICICI Bank Chanda Kochhar, in the public domain for a long time now, it was just a matter of time before he was arrested. That the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested him just before filing the chargesheet shows that it was waiting to tie up the loose ends (since it was a high profile case) and establish the money trail before laying its hands on him. Since it was on the job, it was unlikely that Kochhar could have tampered with or erased the transactions that were largely done through banks. In any case, the fact that money was paid was established long back; the main task of the investigating agencies is to prove the quid pro quo, without which the Kochhar's can continue to claim that they were perfectly legal business deals that had no connection to the loan that the ICICI Bank granted to Venugopal Dhoot and Videocon as lead bankers in a consortium. It seems that the ED has established the money trail that was routed through a maze of corporate entities, trusts and offshore tax havens.

The Enforcement Directorate claims that they were forced to take Kochhar into custody as he refused to cooperate. They say that both the Kochhar's and Dhoot have been evasive and are not answering specific questions to prove the quid pro quo as established by the money trail. They say that they will move against Chanda Kochhar too. Obviously, no one, not even a petty criminal admits his crime easily. Here we are talking about alleged white-collar criminals. They are hard-nosed businessmen and finance professionals and are being advised by top lawyers and financial wizards. They know that no one can be forced to testify against himself or herself. They know very well that Article 20(3) of the Indian constitution grants them immunity against self-incrimination and they will use it wisely. They will never confess and keep on claiming that the money changed hands in business deals that were perfectly above board. It is upon the investigating agencies now to prove that the amounts received by the Kochhar's were bribes for sanctioning the loan and not part of any business deal.