The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a chargesheet against British national Sachin Dev Duggal in connection with its probe into alleged money laundering against Videocon Group, the agency said on Wednesday.
Duggal, who is based in London and chairman of Swiss company nHoldings SA, is the beneficial owner of Indian technology companies Nivio Technologies and Engineer.AI, it said. “He was the main beneficiary of a calculated scheme through which funds were siphoned from Videocon Industries Limited (VIL) and laundered through a series of offshore entities,” the executive added.
In December 2024, the CEO filed a chargesheet against Videocon Group Chairman Venugopal N Dhoot and 12 others in the case.
The money laundering case stems from the Central Bureau of Investigation’s First Information Report in June 2020 alleging that Videocon Hydrocarbon Holdings Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of VIL, obtained a standby letter of credit facility worth $2,773.60 million from a consortium of banks led by the State Bank of India ostensibly to develop oil and gas assets in Mozambique, Brazil and Indonesia.
The CEO on Wednesday cited investigations and said they showed Videocon Group’s promoters “systematic diversion” of these funds, totaling about $2.03 billion, through a complex network of offshore entities.
She said VIL has started offering total interest-free loans $17.32 crore to Duggal-controlled Nivio Technologies India in 2008 without a formal loan agreement. “The loan agreement was hastily signed on May 24, 2011, and the next day, one of Videocon’s offshore companies invested CHF 37.9 thousand in Duggal’s Swiss subsidiary nHoldings SA at a highly inflated valuation, even though the company was making losses,” the executive said.
It added that Videocon directed $37.07 lakh ( $(Rs. 20.12 crore) to nHoldings SA and Duggal through an intentional offshore chain of five entities between 2011 and 2014. The CEO claimed that Nivio Technologies’ financial records show that during the 2011-2012 fiscal year, the company received $35 crore from nHoldings SA, Duggal’s Swiss company. “This was exactly the same period when Videocon Group was transferring money to nHoldings SA. During the same year, the ownership structure of Nivio Technologies was also changed. nHoldings SA became the ultimate parent company of Nivio Technologies India Pvt Ltd, and Nivio Cloud Computing India Pvt Ltd was positioned as an intermediary entity holding shares in Nivio Technologies.”
Duggal has ensured that all companies in India and abroad remain under his direct control through this reorganization, the CEO said. “However, the ultimate use of these funds remains unjustified. According to nHoldings SA’s financial statement for the year ending March 31, 2013, investments in Nivio have been completely written off.”
The emergency department said Dougal failed to appear even when he was issued summons. HT has reached out to Duggal’s lawyer for comment. The story will be updated if a response is received.
