The Central Bureau of Investigation on Monday arrested Videocon Group founder Venugopal Dhoot in an alleged fraud case involving the ICICI Bank, PTI reported.
The 71-year-old was arrested in Mumbai, unidentified officials told the agency. The development comes three days after the agency arrested former ICICI Bank Chief Executive Officer Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak Kochhar in the case.
The CBI had booked Chanda Kochhar, Deepak Kochhar and Dhoot in a case filed under the Prevention of Corruption Act in 2019. It alleged that the ICICI Bank extended credit facilities to companies of the Videocon Group in violation of the Banking Regulation Act, guidelines of the Reserve Bank of India, and the bank’s own credit policy.
The bank extended credit facilities amounting to Rs 3,250 crore, the agency alleged. In return, Dhoot allegedly invested Rs 64 crore in a company named Nupower Renewables through another firm named Supreme Energy Private Limited.
The CBI alleged that Dhoot later transferred Supreme Energy Private Limited to the Pinnacle Energy Trust, which was controlled by Deepak Kochhar, according to The Hindu. The agency said that ICICI Bank’s loans to Videocon became non-performing assets, resulting in wrongful gains to the borrowers and the accused persons.
A case of money laundering was also filed against Chanda Kochhar, Deepak Kochhar and Dhoot in 2019 by the Enforcement Directorate. The agency alleged that the former ICICI Bank CEO acquired a flat in Mumbai at a nominal rate after taking over a Videocon Group entity through a trust,
Chanda Kochhar and Deepak Kochhar had been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in 2021 as well. The former ICICI Bank CEO got bail in February 2021, while her husband got bail in March 2021.
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