The Central Bureau of Investigation on Thursday began searches in connection with alleged irregularities in a Rs 3,250-crore loan that ICICI Bank sanctioned to Videocon Group in 2012, PTI reported, quoting unidentified officials. The agency also filed a first information report.
The agency searched the headquarters of Videocon Group in Mumbai and its offices in Aurangabad, as well as the offices of NuPower and Supreme Power. NuPower was founded by Deepak Kochhar, the husband of former ICICI Bank Chief Executive Officer Chanda Kochhar.
Chanda Kochhar had stepped down from her role at ICICI Bank in October, months after the allegations were reported in the media.
Six months after Videocon Group received the loan from the bank in 2012, its CEO Venugopal Dhoot allegedly provided crores of rupees to NuPower. In March, the CBI initiated a preliminary inquiry to determine whether the bank had violated any law by sanctioning the loan. That inquiry covered Dhoot and Deepak Kochhar. The agency has now converted the inquiry into a case.
Officials have not yet revealed the names of those accused in the first information report and the charges against them.
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