A special court in Mumbai on Saturday remanded ICICI Bank’s former CEO and MD Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak Kochhar in the custody of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) until December 26 in connection with alleged cheating and irregularities in loans sanctioned by the bank to Videocon Group companies.
According to the CBI, Kochhars were summoned to the agency’s headquarters and arrested after a brief interrogation by the investigators on Friday night. They were evasive in their responses and did not cooperate in the inquiry.
The CBI named the Kochhars and Venugopal Dhoot of Videocon Group, as well as companies Nupower Renewables (NRL) managed by Deepak Kochhar, Supreme Energy, Videocon International Electronics Ltd, and Videocon Industries Limited, as accused in the first information report (FIR) registered under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections related to criminal conspiracy and provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, as accused in the first information report (FIR) registered in 2019.
The CBI alleged that ICICI Bank granted credit facilities of Rs 3,250 crore to Videocon Group entities promoted by Dhoot in contravention of the Banking Regulation Act, RBI norms, and the bank’s credit policy.
Chanda Kochhar, who was arrested on Friday for a cash-for-loan fraud, was once a powerful banker who was important in establishing ICICI Bank as the country’s largest private-sector lender.
Kochhar, a frequent on Forbes’ list of top worldwide executives, was detained by the CBI along with her husband Deepak Kochhar in connection with alleged cheating and irregularities in ICICI Bank loans to Videocon Group companies.
