On Monday, December 26, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested the group chairman of Videocon, Venugopal Dhoot, in connection with alleged irregularities over the loans sanctioned to the group by ICICI bank. Earlier, on Friday, December 23, the former CEO-MD of ICICI bank, Chanda Kochhar, was arrested in the same case along with her husband.
Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak Kochhar are accused of allegedly cheating ICICI bank of Rs 1,730 crore during her time heading the bank.
Chanda Kochhar allegedly misused her position in the ICICI Bank and granted loans to Videocon group promoter Venugopal Dhoot in 2009 and 2011 amounting to 1,730 crores. In 2019, the CBI lodged an FIR against the Kochhar couple, Venugopal Dhoot, and others for allegedly cheating ICICI Bank.
Dhoot allegedly bribed the Kochhars in order to avail the loans from ICICI bank when Chanda Kochhar was heading the bank. At the time of FIR registration, CBI had alleged that there were irregularities in the loans granted to Videocon Group by ICICI from 2009 to 2011.
Days after approval of a loan to Videocon Group by ICICI, Chanda Kochhar’s husband, Deepak Kochhar, allegedly received funding of 64 crores from Venugopal Dhoot’s Videocon group. Enforcement Directorate mentioned that the funding was provided through a maze of shell companies.
It is notable that almost 86% of the 3250 crores loan to Videocon Group remains unpaid and was declared NPA in 2017. Both Deepak Kochhar and Venugopal Dhoot have been banned from foreign travel by authorities by issuing a Lookout Circular. Deepak Kochhar and the family members involved with the financial dealings of NuPower Renewables have been questioned several times by the CBI.
Both Chanda Kochhar and her husband have maintained their innocence throughout this saga, refusing any wrongdoing on their part. However, Chanda Kochhar had to step down from her position at the bank due to the increasing pressure over the multi-crore irregularities.
