• According to the CBI, ICICI Bank had sanctioned credit facilities of ₹3,250 crore to the Videocon group of companies promoted by Venugopal Dhoot in violation of the Banking Regulation Act
A special CBI court on Wednesday extended till December 29 the CBI custody of former ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar, her husband Deepak Kochhar and Videocon Group founder Venugopal Dhoot.
The probe agency had arrested Kochhar last Friday after brief questioning. Dhoot was arrested on Monday. The three were produced before Special Judge SM Menjoge at the end of their earlier remand on Wednesday.
The CBI, represented by special public prosecutor A Limousin, sought his custody for two days for further investigation in the matter. After hearing both the sides, the court extended the custody of Kochhar and Dhoot till December 2.
The CBI arrested 71-year-old Dhoot from Mumbai on Monday morning in connection with the ICICI Bank loan fraud case. The Kochhar couple were arrested by the probe agency on Friday night. The CBI had named Kochhar and Dhoot along with Nupower Renewables (NRL), companies managed by Deepak Kochhar, Supreme Energy, Videocon International Electronics Ltd and Videocon Industries Ltd, in the FIR registered under Indian Penal Code sections related to criminal conspiracy. Provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act in 2019.
According to the CBI, ICICI Bank had sanctioned a loan facility of ₹3,250 crore to Videocon group companies promoted by Dhoot in violation of the Banking Regulation Act, RBI guidelines and the bank's credit policy.
According to the CBI, in 2009, a sanctioning committee of ICICI Bank headed by Chanda Kochhar sanctioned a term loan of ₹300 crore to VIEL in violation of the bank's rules and policies. The very next day, VN Dhoot transferred ₹64 crore from VIEL to NRL through his company Supreme Energy Pvt Ltd (SEPL), it said, in "furthering a criminal conspiracy with other accused persons", Chanda Kochhar told Videocon. Sanctioned various loans to the group. CBI claimed.
Chanda Kochhar lived in a flat without any consideration during the period of settlement of Videocon Group's loan proposal. The flat was under litigation between Videocon and Deepak Kochhar. The CBI alleged that in 2016, the flat, which cost ₹5.25 crore in 1996, was transferred to Deepak Kochhar's family trust, Quality Advisors, for a paltry sum of ₹11 lakh.
The agency sought three-day remand of the couple, accusing Chanda Kochhar of not cooperating in the investigation and giving evasive replies. She denied knowledge of any strange dealings between her husband and Dhoot, adding that the CBI also accused Deepak Kochhar of hiding vital facts and not cooperating with the investigation.
Senior advocate Amit Desai, appearing for the Kochhar family, opposed the remand, saying the "principal borrower" of the loan has not been arrested, and the present accused "were not the beneficiaries of any amount". Desai also brought it to the notice of the court. A letter written by ICICI Bank to the CBI in July 202I states that there was "no wrongful loss" in any of the transactions. The court, after hearing both the sides, observed that perusal of the case diary revealed that the offense was of a "serious nature".
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