Videocon bank scam: ED chargesheets UK-resident Sachin Duggal for siphoning
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a supplementary prosecution complaint against UK-based entrepreneur Sachin Dev Duggal in connection with the ongoing money laundering probe linked to the Videocon group, related to financing the company’s oil and gas assets in Mozambique, Brazil, and Indonesia.
ED said that Duggal is a key beneficiary of money siphoned from banks. ED alleged that Duggal, chairman of Swiss company Holdings SA and beneficial owner of Indian tech firms Nivio Technologies and Engineering.
The complaint was filed before the court at Rouse Avenue, in continuation of the original prosecution complaint dated 18 December 2024, against Videocon promoter Venugopal Dhoot and 12 others. The court had taken cognisance of the earlier complaint on 10 February 2026.
According to ED, the investigation stems from a first information report (FIR) registered by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in June 2020, which alleged that Videocon Hydrocarbon Holdings Ltd (VHHL), a step-down subsidiary of Videocon Industries Ltd (VIL), availed a standby letter of credit (SBLC) facility of about US USD 2.77bn (billion) from a consortium of banks led by State Bank of India (SBI) for developing oil and gas assets overseas. However, the probe revealed that around US USD 2.03bn was systematically diverted by Videocon group promoters and layered through multiple offshore entities.
Investigators said the arrangement dates back to 2008, when Videocon Industries began extending interest-free loans totalling about Rs 17.32 crore to Duggal-controlled Nivio Technologies without formal agreements. A loan agreement was later executed in May 2011, following which an overseas Videocon entity invested 3.79 mn (million) Confoederatio Helvetica Franc (CHF) in holdings SA at what the agency described as an inflated valuation despite the company being loss-making.
Between 2011 and 2014, funds amounting to about US USD3.70mn (around Rs 20.12 crore) were allegedly routed to holdings and directly to Mr Duggal through a chain of five overseas entities, ED says.
Financial records examined by the agency show that Nivio Technologies received Rs 35 crore from Holdings during FY2011-12—the same period when Videocon group entities were transferring funds to the Swiss company, said the supplementary chargesheet filed to the court on Wednesday. ED further alleged that Duggal restructured the ownership of the Nivio entities during this period, making Holdings the ultimate parent company while placing Nivio Cloud Computing India Pvt Ltd as an intermediate holding entity. This ensured that control of the entities remained with him both in India and abroad.
Probes against Videocon Group started in 2018, when the company was caught for bribing ICICI Bank head Chanda Kochhar.
