Former ICICI Bank Chief Executive Officer Chanda Kochhar on Monday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate in New Delhi with her husband, Deepak Kochhar, for interrogation in connection with the Videocon loan case. The investigating agency had also questioned Chanda Kochhar’s brother-in-law Rajiv Kochhar in Mumbai and New Delhi late last month, The Hindu reported.
Chanda Kochhar resigned in October last year after questions were raised about a Rs 3,250-crore loan that the bank had given the Videocon group in 2012. Six months after the loan was sanctioned, Videocon Managing Director Venugopal Dhoot allegedly provided crores of rupees to NuPower. The CBI on January 27 filed a case against the Kochhars, Dhoot, and others, after carrying out searches at the headquarters of Videocon Group in Mumbai and its offices in Aurangabad, and offices of NuPower. The CBI has alleged that the accused sanctioned the loans to private companies in a criminal conspiracy with others in order to cheat the private lender.
In February, ICICI Bank sacked Chanda Kochhar, accusing her of violating its code of conduct and internal policies. The same month, the Central Bureau of Investigation issued a lookout circular against the three accused, a week after a case was registered against them. The agency had said the notices were issued to ensure that none of them left the country.
In March, the Enforcement Directorate conducted searches at the homes and offices of Chanda Kochhar and Dhoot in a case of money laundering. The probe agency also searched the office of Nupower Renewables, a company founded and run by Deepak Kochhar.
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