LI Network
Published on: 6 August 2023 at 22:19 IST
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a charge sheet against former CEO of ICICI Bank, Chanda Kochhar, her husband Deepak Kochhar, and Videocon founder Venugopal Dhoot, claiming that the credit facilities extended by ICICI Bank to the Videocon group resulted in non-performing assets (NPAs) worth over Rs 1,000 crore.
The charge sheet, which spans over 10,000 pages, was recently submitted to a special court for CBI cases. Chanda Kochhar and the other accused are currently out on bail.
During Chanda Kochhar’s tenure as MD & CEO of ICICI Bank from May 1, 2009, the bank sanctioned six ‘Rupee Term Loans’ (RTLs) to the Videocon Group. These RTLs totaled Rs 1,875 crore and were sanctioned between June 2009 and October 2011.
Chanda Kochhar served as the chairperson of the two-member Committee of Directors that approved an RTL of Rs 300 crore to Videocon International Electronics Limited (VIEL) in August 2009.
Furthermore, she was also a member of the recommending committee and the sanctioning committee for an RTL of Rs 750 crore to Videocon Industries Limited (VIL) in October 2011.
The charge sheet alleges that Chanda Kochhar remained involved in sanctioning various loan limits to Videocon Group even after 2012.
According to the CBI charge sheet, the credit facilities provided by ICICI Bank to the Videocon Group turned into NPAs in June 2017, amounting to Rs 1,033 crore, leading to a loss of the same amount plus interest for the bank.
The charge sheet also alleges that in December 2008, after Chanda Kochhar’s appointment as MD and CEO of ICICI Bank was announced, Dhoot, the Kochhars, and others planned to obtain sanctioned loans for the Videocon Group.
Additionally, Chanda Kochhar had lived in a flat owned by the Videocon Group in Mumbai, which was later transferred to her family trust (managed by Deepak Kochhar) for a significantly lower amount than its actual value in October 2016.
The CBI claims that she received “illegal gratification” of Rs 64 crore and misappropriated the bank’s funds for personal use.
The charge sheet also implicates Deepak Kochhar, stating that he conspired with others to obtain credit facilities from ICICI Bank in favor of Videocon Group through his wife, in exchange for illegal gratification of Rs 64 crore through a series of transactions involving companies controlled by him.
Apart from the Kochhars and Dhoot, the CBI has named Nupower Renewables (NRL) managed by Deepak Kochhar, Supreme Energy, Videocon International Electronics Ltd, and Videocon Industries Limited as other accused in the case.
The case was registered in 2019 under Indian Penal Code sections related to criminal conspiracy and sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act.