CBI Raids Offices Of Videocon Industries In Loan Case Related To Deepak Kochhar

The Central Bureau of Investigation has carried out raids across some of the offices of Videocon Industries, said a person directly familiar with the matter. The raids have been conducted in connection to a case involving transactions between the Videocon Group and Deepak Kochhar -- husband of former ICICI Bank Ltd. CEO Chanda Kochhar.

Raids have conducted at the Nariman Point headquarters of Videocon Industries and at an office of the group in Aurangabad, said the person quoted above. The agency is also conducting raids at offices of NuPower Renewables and Supreme Energy in Mumbai, the person added.

The CBI has registered a first information report in connection with alleged irregularities in the Rs 3,250-crore ICICI Bank-Videocon loan case, PTI reported.

In April 2018, the CBI had registered a preliminary enquiry against Deepak Kochhar and Venugopal Dhoot, chairman of Videocon group.

The Backdrop

In an article published on March 29, the Indian Express detailed a series of transactions between the Videocon Group and Deepak Kochhar owned NuPower Renewables between 2008-2013.

• In Dec. 2008 Deepak Kochhar and Venugopal Dhoot set up NuPower Renewables Pvt Ltd as a 50:50 joint venture.
• A month later Dhoot resigned as director of NuPower and transferred his shares in the company to Kochhar.
• In 2010, an entity owned by Videocon Group promoter Venugopal Dhoot gave a loan of Rs 64 crore to NuPower Renewables in 2010.
• Another round of transactions between 2010 and 2013 led to an effective transfer of shareholding from Dhoot to Deepak Kochhar for a sum of Rs 9 lakh.
• The newspaper report then went on to question whether the transactions had led to a quid pro quo via more than Rs 3,000 crore in loans granted by ICICI Bank to Videocon Industries. These loans were granted as a part of a broader banking consortium loan, worth almost Rs 40,000 crore, approved in 2012.

Similar concerns had been raised by a whistleblower in 2016.

A day before the article was published, the board of ICICI Bank released a letter expressing full faith in Chanda Kochhar, in an attempt to dispel concerns of a quid pro quo in loan approvals. At the time, the board said that it has full confidence and reposes full faith in Chanda Kochhar. The bank's internal credit approval processes are robust, it had added. The board’s position changed after the second set of allegations from an anonymous whistleblower emerged.

Since then Chanda Kochhar has stepped down as the CEO of ICICI Bank. An enquiry into allegations of quid pro quo, headed by Justice BN Srikrishna, is still to be completed.