ED Secures Court Cognizance in Videocon Mozambique Oil Deal Money Laundering Case

The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), through its HIU-1 Office, has moved the Special Court at Rouse Avenue, New Delhi, in the Videocon Mozambique Oil Deal case against Venugopal Dhoot and 12 other accused persons and entities under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. The court has taken cognizance of the offence on 10 February 2026 and issued notices to all accused.

The case stems from an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation in June 2020, alleging criminal conspiracy, cheating, and corruption involving diversion of massive foreign currency loans obtained by the Videocon Group. According to the ED, loan facilities sanctioned by a consortium of Indian banks and foreign lenders for overseas oil and gas development were systematically siphoned off under the promoters’ direction.

Funds were routed through multiple overseas group companies, layered via circular transactions, and eventually brought back into India disguised as export advances, investments, and loan repayments. Investigators found that out of USD 4.54 billion in facilities, around USD 2.02 billion was misused for unrelated businesses and asset creation.

Several Videocon accounts later turned NPAs, with bank claims exceeding ₹61,000 crore. The ED has already attached assets worth over ₹56 crore and filed a prosecution complaint involving proceeds of crime of ₹1,136.49 crore.