The Kochhar couple and Venugopal Dhoot were sent in judicial custody for 14 days by the Special CBI Court. The CBI did not ask for more time in custody of them. The court has ordered that Chanda Kochhar, the former MD and CEO of ICICI, her husband Deepak Kochhar, and Venugopal Dhoot, the chairman of Videocon, remain in judicial detention till January 10, 2023.
In connection with the ICICI bank-Videocon loan fraud case, the CBI has asked to extend the custody of Videocon chairman Venugopal Dhoot, former MD and CEO of ICICI Bank Chanda Kochhar, and Deepak Kochhar yesterday. The detention was extended by the court to December 29.
The trio was arrested in connection with a loan fraud investigation involving Videocon and ICICI Bank.
Also Read: Videocon group Chairman Venugopal Dhoot detained by the CBI
The Allegations
The CBI detained Chanda Kochhar, the former CEO of ICICI Bank, along with her husband Deepak Kochhar due to irregularities in loans given to the Videocon Group while she was in charge.
The sensational arrests were made in relation to the alleged fraud and irregularities in an ICICI Bank loan of Rs 3,250 crore given to the Videocon Group in 2012, which by 2017 had become a non-performing asset.
According to allegations made by the CBI, ICICI Bank granted credit facilities of Rs 3,250 crore to companies in the Videocon Group that were backed by Venugopal Dhoot in contravention of the Banking Regulation Act, RBI guidelines, and the bank’s credit policy. The investigating agency also requested permission from the court to press the “criminal breach of trust” charge under the Indian Penal Code against them.
As per CBI, Dhoot is accused of investing millions of dollars in NuPower Renewables just months after the Videocon Group received a loan from ICICI Bank in 2012 totaling Rs 3,250 crore.
Chanda accused of pro quid which benefitted her family
Chanda has been accused of abusing her official position, showing favouritism, etc. as part of an alleged quid pro quo agreement that benefited her family, thanks to a whistle-blower who brought the issue to light. She was forced to resign in 2018 after being accused of employing lending procedures that were prejudiced in favour of the gas exploration and consumer electronics company Videocon. As Chanda Kochhar was the then-company shareholder and approved the loan to Videocon, the connection between the Kochhars and Dhoot was underlined.
In a statement following the FIR’s filed in 2019, the CBI said that the accused had authorized a number of loans to private businesses as part of a criminal conspiracy to defraud ICICI Bank.
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