Witness: Chanda Kochhar may share room with Indrani Mukerjea, Dhoot warned Deepak

Incidentally, Chanda too spent 12 days in Byculla jail, from December 29, 2022, till her bail on January 10, 2023.

The details of the purported conversation between Dhoot and Deepak are part of a witness statement included in the CBI’s chargesheet filed in April.

The witness has said that he is an independent director in about 20 companies of the Videocon Group and interacted with various banks for loans on behalf of the company. In his statements, recorded first in 2020 and again in January 2023, the witness was asked if he was privy to any discussion between Dhoot and Deepak at a five-star hotel in South Mumbai in 2016.

The witness has said that sometime in 2016, he was called for some documentation work by Dhoot. According to his statement, there was a “nasty altercation” between Dhoot and Deepak about the flat at CCI Chambers in Churchgate. The witness said Dhoot had told him that he had paid Rs 5.38 crore to State Bank of India Home Finance Ltd and released the title of the flat from a dispute, and that it belonged to him.

Dhoot reportedly told Deepak that he had “allowed him to stay free of cost”, but it did not mean that it was Deepak’s flat. “Shri Deepak Kochhar became infuriated and told V N Dhoot to sell all the shares of Quality Appliance Pvt Ltd at face value of Rs 11 lakh; this way the flat would be transferred to his (Deepak)’s family trust Quality Advisor, otherwise Chanda would declare his loan accounts with ICICI Bank NPA (Non-Performing Assets),” the witness has said.

“Shri V N Dhoot told him (Deepak) that don’t transfer the flat in such a way (that) Chanda would be in trouble one day and would land up sharing room with Indrani Mukherjea. Shri Deepak Kochhar became very angry and told Shri V N Dhoot (to) listen to his advice, otherwise he would ruin him,” the witness has said.

The CBI has claimed that the flat, linked to the Videocon Group, was obtained by the Kochhars for Rs 11 lakh in 2016. It has also collected copies of deeds of transfers of flats in the building that show the cost of a flat was Rs 5.25 crore in 1995, and the Kochhars’ son, Arjun, purchased a flat on the same floor for Rs 19.11 crore in 2021.

Asked whether Dhoot had met Chanda, the witness has said: “I do not know, but whenever I found a problem in loan, I used to inform him (Dhoot)… ICICI Bank officials used to tell (us) that Shri V N Dhoot needs to tell higher officials on such and such points… Accordingly, I used to inform him (Dhoot) and matter used to be sorted.”

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

The CBI has also included the statement of a chartered accountant linked to the Videocon Group, who has said that after the investment of Rs 64 crore, Deepak followed up with Dhoot for more investments, but as the group was facing a financial crunch, he (Dhoot) was hesitant. The witness said that to safeguard and control his investment in Nupower, Dhoot appointed the witness and an IAS officer, a former BMC commissioner, on the board.

According to the witness, Deepak met Dhoot to ask for the Rs 64 crore investment by using his wife’s name, saying that she would be the next ICICI Bank MD-CEO and “would help him in getting loans” from the bank. He said Deepak used to say that Chanda had not disclosed the relationship of her husband with the Videocon Group as it would attract provisions of conflict of interest.

The chargesheet also has declarations made by Chanda on her interests in various companies during her term as MD and CEO. A bank employee, also a witness, has said the disclosure about the link between Videocon Group and her spouse came from Chanda only through a letter on April 30, 2018.

The chargesheet also includes a communication from ICICI Bank to the CBI, stating that no wrongful loss was caused to the bank on account of the six loans given to Videocon Group.

“It may be noted that the rupee term loan outstanding of ICICI Bank reduced from Rs 1,730 crore in November 2012 to Rs 1,033 crore at December 31, 2018, whereby ICICI Bank has collected principal of Rs 696 crore during the said period, apart from interest of Rs 877 crore,” the bank told the CBI.

“It may also be pertinent to mention that the Gross NPA of the banking system in the country was Rs 3.22 lakh crore as on March 31, 2015 which increased to Gross NPA of Rs 10.36 lakh crore as on December 31, 2017. It can thus be seen that several loans of the banking system turned into NPA, loans to VIL (Videocon Industries Limited) being one of these loans,” it said.

The bank said due processes were followed while granting the loans and added that allegations in the FIR about wrongful loss and contravention of rules were “not factually correct”, even as it accorded sanction under Prevention of Corruption Act to prosecute Chanda.