Special CBI court sends Kochhars, Dhoot to 14-day judicial custody
A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court on Thursday sent former ICICI Bank MD and CEO Chanda Kochhar, her husband Deepak Kochhar, and Videocon Group's founder and Chairman Venugopal Dhoot to judicial custody till January 10. The order came after the CBI didn't seek further custody for interrogation. The trio is accused in a money laundering case involving ICICI Bank and Videocon Group.
Why does this story matter?
Chanda Kochhar is accused of illegally favoring and sanctioning a slew of loans for Videocon since she took charge as MD-CEO in 2009. Videocon borrowed a total of Rs. 40,000 crore from a consortium of 20 banks. The loan taken from ICICI Bank turned into a non-performing asset (NPA) for the bank and allegedly benefited Kochhar and her family.
Kochhars were arrested last week, Dhoot on Monday
The CBI arrested the Kochhar couple last Friday while Dhoot was held on Monday. The probe agency alleges that the bank's sanctioning committee headed by Kochhar extended credit facilities to the companies of Videocon Group—promoted by Dhoot—in violation of the bank's credit policy, the Banking Regulation Act, and Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) guidelines. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is also probing the case.
Dhoot allegedly transferred Rs. 64 crore to Deepak Kochhar's NRL
The FIR in the case filed in 2019 names companies Nupower Renewables (NRL)—managed by Deepak Kochhar, Supreme Energy Private Limited (SEPL), Videocon International Electronics Ltd (VIEL), and Videocon Industries Limited, as accused. The committee illegally approved an Rs. 300 crore term loan to VIEL in 2009. The day after the loan disbursal, Dhoot allegedly transferred Rs. 64 crore from VIEL to NRL via SEPL.
No decision at the bank is unilateral: Chanda Kochhar
While the CBI accused Chanda Kochhar of abusing her position, she has refuted the allegations saying that "none of the credit decisions at the bank is unilateral". The Kochhars and Dhoot owned the Videocon Group and shared business connections for at least 24 years. The partnership between the Kochhar brothers, Deepak and Rajiv, and the Videocon Group reportedly dates back to 1994-95.
