CBI Files FIR Against Chanda Kochhar in ICICI-Videocon Loan Case

The CBI had registered a preliminary inquiry against Videocon promoter Venugopal Dhoot and Deepak Kochhar.

Former ICICI MD and CEO Chanda Kochhar.

(Photo: Reuters)

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday, 24 January, registered an FIR in connection with alleged irregularities in the Rs 3,250 crore ICICI Bank-Videocon loan case and is carrying out searches at the group headquarters in Mumbai and offices in Aurangabad, officials said.

The bureau also named Chanda Kochhar, former CEO of ICICI bank, as accused in the loan case.

The search operation started on Thursday morning and covered offices of Nupower, a company operated by ICICI Bank's former CEO Chanda's husband Deepak Kochhar, and Supreme Power.

It is alleged that Videocon promoter Venugopal Dhoot allegedly invested crores of Rupees in Nupower, months after the Videocon group got Rs 3,250 crore as loan from the ICICI Bank in 2012, they said.

The agency had registered a preliminary enquiry against Videocon promoter Venugopal Dhoot, Deepak Kochhar and unidentified others in March last year.

A PE is a precursor before the agency lodges an FIR to probe criminal charges on the basis of evidence collected during the former exercise.

The agency has now converted it into an FIR, which means a full-blown investigation has been started by the agency after registration of a case. The details of the FIR and names of the accused are awaited, officials said.

It has been alleged that on 26 August 2009, a loan of Rs 300 crore was sanctioned to a Mumbai based private company in contravention of the rules and policy by the sanctioning committee.

The allegations further say that Kochhar, then the MD and CEO of ICICI Bank, being the head of the sanctioning committee, abused her official position to sanction the loan in favour of the said Mumbai based private company.

The said loan was disbursed by ICICI Bank on 7 September 2009. On the very next day the MD of said group of companies transferred Rs 64 crore to his other company which was further transferred on the same day to one other company which was managed by the MD of this private company based in Mumbai .

After transferring the funds to his company, the MD of Mumbai based group of private companies also transferred the control of this company to a Trust managed by the MD of the other private company based in Mumbai (a relative of then MD and CEO of ICICI Bank) , as Managing Trustee.

(With inputs from PTI)