13/02/2021
Former ICICI Bank Managing Director and CEO Chanda Kochhar had prima facie misused her official position in granting loans to accused Videocon group of companies and received illegal gratification, through her husband Deepak Kochhar, the court had earlier observed while taking cognisance ED's complaint.
The ED's probe is based on a case registered CBI in January 2019 into alleged irregularities in the grant of six 'high-value' loans worth around Rs 1,575 crore to five firms of the Videocon Group between June 2009 and October 2011. The loans were granted in contravention of the rules and policy of sanctioning committee, the ED has alleged.
These loans were later termed as non-performing assets resulting in wrongful loss to ICICI bank and wrongful gain to the borrowers and accused persons, the ED says in their complaint, adding, that the total misappropriation is to the tune of Rs.1,730 crore as on April 26, 2012.
ED's investigation states that on September 9, 2009, when the first loan amount of Rs.300 crores was disbursed to Videocon, on the very next day V.N. Dhoot transferred an amount of Rs.64 crores to NuPower Renewables Pvt Ltd (NRPL) managed by Kochhar's husband, Deepak, through his company SEPL.
Kochhar started her illustrious career with ICICI in 1984 and rose to the rank of MD & CEO in 2009, only to be forced to step down in 2018 after serious allegations of fraud and corruption by the board of directors of the bank.