The income tax department and the Ministry of Corporate Affairs concluded in their latest reports that Rs 64 crore ‘received’ by Deepak Kochhar’s group firms through layered transactions from Videocon remains unexplained. The I-T department had also probed if the purchase of the south Mumbai , CCI chamber residence of the Kochhars was violative of provisions of the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, but there was no headway made.These sources said that while the I-T department’s investigation wing report has stated that the transactions under ‘business expenses’ do not amount to ‘genuine business transactions,’ the MCA held that Videocon Group ‘had no serious intention to recover the funds’.Dhoot and Kochhars have been questioned multiple times by various central investigation agencies. At least four central agencies — Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Enforcement Directorate (ED), Income Tax and the MCA are probing the transactions for various violations under different Acts. Earlier this week, Dhoot and Deepak were questioned by the ED at its headquarters in Delhi.“The two reports concluded that this was not genuine transactions and the same is being probed if it was illegal gratification paid by Dhoot to Deepak Kochhar companies for the loans granted by ICICI when Chanda was at the helm. The couple and Dhoot are being confronted on the findings of the two reports,” said one of the persons cited above. “Neither the couple nor Dhoot was cooperating in the investigation,” the official said.The I-T department had also probed if the purchase of the South Mumbai, CCI chamber residence of the Kochhars was violative of provisions of the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, but nothing there was no headway made.“The probe has revealed that in 1998 the flat was purchased by Kochhar’s company Credential Finance Ltd. As on 2001, Videocon International had 2% stake, subsequently, Credential went for liquidation and VIL, nominated Quality Appliance to take over. The flat was owned by Quality Appliances Pvt Ltd (now Quality Techno Advisors Pvt Ltd), a firm related to Videocon Group, until March 2016. It was transferred to Deepak Kochhar in 2016 through a trust at a nominal price,” said another person cited above.“The probe focused on two angles: Either the flat was bought by Videocon using the money they were supposed to pay to Kochhars and thus a benami transaction or the property was sold at less than market rates with the balance being graft. The evidence gathered didn’t indicate that it was transaction fit under the Benami Act, the graft bit could be probed further by the CBI,” the official said.The tax department questioned Deepak Kochhar in the past on the alleged tax evasion had also visited British Virgin Island (BVI) to gather evidence. “ The team, however, couldn’t gather much information as they were told the documents pertaining to the case were destroyed in a natural calamity. The investigation wing, however, managed to conclude the probe observing that the ?64 crore shown as business expenses by Kochhar was not for genuine business purposes, hence as per I-T Act it wasn’t allowed as a business expense,” explained the official. “Transactions which are wholly and exclusively for business purposes are allowable as expenses under the Act,” the official said.CBI, examining a case of criminal conspiracy and misuse of office against Kochhar, mentions the transfer of ?64 crore as “illegal gratification” in its FIR.Calls and messages sent to Deepak and Chanda Kochhar remained unanswered till press time Sunday.VIL never came clean on the advance of Rs 64 crore to Supreme Energy Pvt Ltd, promoted and incorporated by VN Dhoot, but by 2012 it was owned by Deepak Kochhar, the MCA said in its report shared with the other agencies.About the web of shell companies floated by Videocon and Kochhar to layer the amount, the MCA report said: “In September 2009 VIL paid Rs 64 crore as advance to Supreme. In July 2011, it assigned this advance from Supreme to its group company Indian Refrigerator Company Ltd (IRCL). In August 2011 IRCL, in turn, assigned it to another company, Real Appliances Pvt Ltd ( RAPL) which later changed its name to Real Cleantech Pvt Ltd (RCPL). The present status of RCPL is ‘struck off’ in RoC records under Section 248 (empowers Registrar to remove the name of the company from RoC) .. even though the amount is still payable by Supreme to VIL group,” the report said.“In the view of RCLP being a struck-off company, this receivable by RCPL/ VIL group from Supreme is highly doubtful. It is clear that Videocon Group had no serious intention to recover the funds,” the report said.Reacting to an earlier ET report, Dhoot in an email reply had said, “We would like to outrightly deny that Videocon Group had no serious intention to recover the funds and would like to submit that the said findings could have been on the ground that Real Cleantech, the company which owns the investment, is struck off by the Hon’ble Registrar of Companies, Mumbai, Maharashtra, under Section 248 of the Companies Act, 2013, in September 2018, due to non-filing of financial statements and annual return by Real Cleantech for the financial year ended on 31st March, 2016 and 31st March, 2017, and on the assumption that Real Cleantech is a dormant and had not been doing any business/ operations for the last two immediately preceding years.”