In October 2018, Chanda Kochha stepped down as the CEO and MD of the bank 
Special 
In October 2018, Chanda Kochha stepped down as the CEO and MD of the bank ICICI Bank loan fraud case: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has said that former ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar misused her position and “misappropriated” the Bank's funds for her own use and got Rs 64 crore as “illegal gratification”.
In its chargesheet, CBI said that Chanda Kochhar granted loans to ineligible Videocon Group firms. The prosecutor said that Chanda Kochhar accepted a $64 million gratuity and that the family benefited from the transfer of a flat in Mumbai's Churchgate area, owned by Videocon.
CBI said that Kochhars got a flat in CCI Chambers in Churchgate in 2016 for just Rs 11 lakh while her son bought a flat in the same building on the same floor in November 2021 for Rs 19.11 crore.
It is to be noted that Chanda Kochhar, her husband and Videocon Group's promoter, V N Dhoot, have been charged with corruption in the Rs 3, 250 crore loan fraud scam, and all three were named in CBI's 11,000-page chargesheet lodged in late March this year.
The agency has also made Dhoot’s nephew, Saurabh Dhoot, a former director of Videocon International Electronics Ltd (VIEL), and the company’s chartered accountant, Dattatraya Kadam, as accused.
In October 2018, Chanda Kochhar, now 59, stepped down as the CEO and MD of the bank, and charges were put that she “favoured Videocon Group” for the loan, a consumer electronics and oil and gas exploration company.
Last month, CBI had received sanction from ICICI Bank to prosecute its former MD and CEO. After the chargesheet was filed, the case came up for hearing for the first time on July 3.
Highlighting the findings recorded by CBI in its probe, special prosecutor for CBI A Lemozine said that Chanda Kochhar had conspired with the other accused and sanctioned credit facilities to the firms of the Videocon Group, even when the entities were not eligible for any loans.
On August 26, 2009, a Rupee Term Loan (RTL) of Rs 300 crore was sanctioned to Videocon International Electronics Limited by the ICICI Bank committee of directors, which was headed by Chanda Kochhar. The loan was disbursed on September 7.
The CBI prosecutor said that Videocon, through its complex web of companies, transferred Rs 64 crore to Deepak’s company M/s NuPower Renewable Ltd (NRL).
It added that Kochhar approved two loans: RTL of Rs 300 crore to M/s Videocon International Electronics Limited (VIEL) and RTL of Rs 750 crore to M/s Videocon Industries Limited (VIL), the CBI said.
The CBI added that of the Rs 300 crore sanctioned to VIEL, Rs 64 crore was transferred by Dhoot to Deepak Kochhar’s company a day after the loan was disbursed on September 7, 2009.
Besides, the bank had released the security available in the form of FDR of Rs 50 crore in the accounts of other group entities - M/s Sky Appliance Limited and M/s Techno Electronic Limited - without any justification, the CBI added.
“Chanda accepted illegal gratification of Rs 64 crore as a reward and thereby misappropriated the bank’s fund for her own use,” Lemozine argued.
Regarding the flat in Churchgate, Limosin said that a trust held by Kochhar also got a flat in CCI Chambers in Churchgate in 2016 from Videocon group for just Rs 11 lakh while its value at that time was Rs 5.3 crore. Kochhar's son bought a flat in the same building on the same floor in November 2021 for Rs 19.11 crore.
“She (Chanda Kochhar) got the said flat transferred to her family trust, where Deepak was managing trustee, only for Rs 11 lakh in October 2016, whereas the flat was valued at Rs 5.25 crore in 1996,” Lemozine argued.
In January 2019, the investigation agency registered a case to probe the alleged irregularities in granting RTLs of Rs 1,875 crore to the six firms when Kochhar was the MD and CEO of ICICI Bank. The agency had said that the loan amount was reduced to Rs 1,730 crore after restructuring, and an amount of Rs 1,033 crore was still outstanding.
(With inputs from Vidya)
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