ICICI Bank loan row: Months after registering preliminary enquiry, CBI still waits for more documents to firm up case

Months after it registered a preliminary enquiry to determine whether there was any wrongdoing in the sanctioning of a Rs 3,250 crore loan to the Videocon Group by ICICI Bank Ltd, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is still waiting for some more documents to firm up the case, according to a media report. The investigative agency has reportedly collected documents pertaining to the Rs 40,000 crore loan granted to Videocon group in 2012 and documents pertaining to setting up of NuPower Renewables – the company founded by Deepak Kochhar, ICICI Bank MD and CEO Chanda Kochhar), Mint reported, quoting a person familiar with the development. “From CBI’s end, there is nothing that is being done against the Kochhar family as of now. Neither is Chanda Kochhar being called in nor is her husband Deepak Kochhar likely to be summoned now,” an official familiar was quoted as saying by the newspaper. In March, the CBI had registered a preliminary enquiry against Deepak Kochhar, and also officials of the Videocon Group and others to determine whether any wrongdoing was involved. [caption id=“attachment_2732068” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] A file photo of ICICI Bank MD & CEO Chanda Kochhar. PTI[/caption] The CBI action came in the wake of news reports raising questions about Videocon chairman Venugopal Dhoot allegedly providing crores of rupees to a firm promoted by Deepak Kochhar and two relatives six months after his group got the Rs 3,250 crore loan from ICICI Bank. The said amount was part of a loan of Rs 40,000 crore which Videocon received from a consortium of 20 banks led by State Bank of India (SBI). In April, CBI had questioned Rajiv Kochhar, brother-in-law of Chanda Kochhar, along with NuPower Renewables Pvt Ltd director Mahesh Chandra Punglia. In June, ICICI Bank’s Board decided to institute a ‘comprehensive enquiry’ to look into allegations that Chanda Kochhar had not adhered to provisions relating to the ‘code of conduct’ of the bank. Former Supreme Court judge BN Srikrishna had accepted the lender’s request to preside over that investigation. In August, Bank Chairman Girish Chandra Chaturvedi said the committee holding enquiry into charges of impropriety against Chanda Kochhar was expected to submit its reports in the next two to two-and-half months. Responding to nepotism allegations against her, Chanda Kochhar had said that the private lender works under and abides by all regulatory norms and that it has been fully cooperating with regulatory and investigative agencies. On 29 March, ICICI Bank Chairman MK Sharma had said that reports alleging nepotism by Kochhar were unfounded and malicious in nature. With inputs from agencies