ICICI case | CBI to unearth public servants partners in criminal
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The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Wednesday sought to expand the remit of its ongoing probe into the ICICI Bank-Videocon Group loan sanctioning case, proposing to examine the roles of "unknown public servants" and other individuals while seeking further custody of the bank's former chief executive Chanda Kochhar, her husband Deepak, and Videocon chairman Venugopal Dhoot.
The CBI's remand plea for the three arrested also stressed on the angle of criminal conspiracy. "The accused persons are also required to be further interrogated to unearth criminal conspiracy with other unknown public servants and THE MORE YOU'RE TESTED,
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"While this leg of the probe is concentrating on the six loans sanctioned when Chanda was the MD & CEO, the committee members will be required to be quizzed as Chanda, during her questioning, maintains that the decision to sanction the loans to Videocon Group was taken by the committee and not in an individual capacity by her," said a person privy to the development
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Sources told ET, however, that members of the loan-sanctioning committee will likely be called only as witnesses. A legal view is awaited even for calling them as witnesses.
Kochhar, meanwhile, has also distanced herself from her husband, saying that he was running an independent business, and that she was never privy or party to any business decisions taken by Deepak Kochhar, official sources told ET.
"To ascertain if the decisions by Chanda were in violation of the central bank norms and that the claims made by her (of a collective decision) are in fact an alibi, questioning of the other
THE MORE YOU'RE TESTED, THE MORE YOU BECOME
committee members is necessary," said another official. "However, questioning...would require prior sanctions from the bank. Therefore, questioning, if any, would be in the capacity of a witness under the Code of Criminal Procedure. Legal opinion on this will be sought before proceeding further."
In November 2020, the adjudicating authority (AA), Tushar Shah, Member (Law), had observed while passing a ruling under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) that the CBI's first information report (FIR), which concentrated on ₹300 crore of term loans by ICICI Bank to Videocon International
THE MORE YOU'RE TESTED, THE MORE YOU BECOME.
committee members is necessary," said another official. "However, questioning...would require prior sanctions from the bank. Therefore, questioning, if any, would be in the capacity of a witness under the Code of Criminal Procedure. Legal opinion on this will be sought before proceeding further."
In November 2020, the adjudicating authority (AA), Tushar Shah, Member (Law), had observed while passing a ruling under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) that the CBI's first information report (FIR), which concentrated on ₹300 crore of term loans by ICICI Bank to Videocon International
THE MORE YOU'RE TESTED, THE MORE YOU BECOME.
ah had further observed that the investment of ₹64 crore by Dhoot in NuPower Renewables, managed by Deepak Kochhar, was not linked in any way with the FIR filed by CBI. He also observed that both the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate, while probing the same case, had failed to interrogate any of the senior officials mentioned in the FIR as committee members.
Kochhars, Videocon and Dhoot in the Crosshairs of Probe Agencies
Multiple agencies are probing former ICICI Bank managing director Chanda Kochhar and her husband
Deepak Kochhar for suspected malfeasance in granting loans to the Videocon Group. Rashmi Rajput
and Saloni Shukla detail the current lines of the probes, and the status of such investigations. Kochhar
and her husband, Deepak, were arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation on December 23.
Venugopal Dhoot, chairman of Videocon, is also in CBI custody.
CENTRAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION (C)
Probe angles include criminal conspiracy and cheating under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) Criminal breach of trust by a banker under
ENFORCEMENT DIRECTORATE (ED) Based on the offence registered by CBI ED booked Kochhars and Dhoot in 2019 ECIR registered under the Prevention of
Probing Chanda Kochhar for misuse of office under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) Corruption (PC) Act
Allegations pertain to the illegal sanction of 300 cr
of loans to Videocon Videocon allegedly moved 164 cr
from an ICICI Bank loan to Deepak Kochhar's NuPower Renewables In 2020, ED fled a prosecution complaint. saying it is probing at least three other loans to Essar Steel Minnesota Bhushan
Chanda is being probed Steel & Power and Sterline Rinter All Sans
THE MORE YOU'RE TESTED, THE MORE YOU BECOME.
MINISTRY OF CORPORATE AFFAIRS
Prosecuting Deepak Kochhar's companies-Pacific Capital Services, Echanda Urja, Supreme Energy-for violations
Registrar of Companies held back 14 cr transferred by Videocon Group to Kochhar, and that Dhoot had no serious intention to recover the advanced funds
INCOME TAX DEPARTMENT
Probing Kochhars for
alleged tax evasion
Investigation Wing concluded
