After being picked for ICICI top post in Dec 2008, Kochhar planned loans to Videocon: CBI

A special court in Mumbai took cognizance of the CBI chargesheet on Wednesday, and issued summons to the accused to appear before it next month.

In the chargesheet, the agency has said that Kochhar was appointed as the executive director of ICICI Bank in 2001, and was later promoted to MD and CEO with effect from May 1, 2009. The decision to promote her was taken at a board meeting of the bank on December 19, 2008, the chargesheet says.

“Investigation revealed that Videocon International Electronics Limited, Videocon Industries Limited, Venugopal Dhoot, Chanda Kochhar, Deepak Kochhar, Nupower Renewables Limited, Supreme Energy Private Limited and Saurabh Dhoot engineered a plan and design in December 2008, after the announcement of appointment of Ms Chanda Kochhar as MD and CEO of ICICI Bank, to get sanctioned loans to financially beleaguered Videocon Group,” the chargesheet states.

In furtherance of the conspiracy, six Rupee Term Loans were sanctioned by ICICI Bank in favour of Videocon Group companies, from time to time, after Kochhar took charge as MD and CEO, it adds.

The loans were sanctioned by various committees, from June 3, 2009 to October 31, 2011, totalling Rs 1,875 crore. The CBI claims that this was done in lieu of illegal gratification of Rs 64 crore which was paid to Kochhar in the guise of an investment by Videocon in Nupower, the company linked to her husband.

The CBI has also given details of how the flat at CCI Chambers in Churchgate linked to the Videocon Group was bought by the Kochhars for Rs 11 lakh in 2016. It has collected copies of deeds of transfers of the flats in the building between 2009-2017. According to the details, the cost of a flat in the building was Rs 5.25 crore in 1995, Rs 10.60 crore in 2009, Rs 16 crore in 2014, and Rs 18.50 crore in 2017. “It is worthwhile to mention here in that her son Shri Arjun Kochhar purchased a flat of like area on the same floor for Rs 19.11 crore on 12.11.2021,” the chargesheet states.

The CBI claims that Kochhar was part of some of the committees sanctioning the loans, in violation of bank rules. The bank’s policy states that any chairperson, MD or any other director, who is directly or indirectly concerned or interested in any proposal, should disclose the nature of the interest to the Board.

The CBI has also claimed that loans were given despite several adverse features, and favours were extended to Videocon, including release of securities after the loans were sanctioned. The agency has also claimed that a false certificate was submitted to the bank to certify the use of the loans, although the money was diverted for other purposes.