ICICI Bank loan fraud case: Former CEO Chanda Kochhar, husband Deepak Kochhar under CBI scanner

Chanda Kochhar, the former chief executive officer (CEO) of ICICI Bank, has come under the CBI scanner along with her husband, Deepak Kochhar, in the ICICI Bank loan fraud case, according to news reports. The central investigation agency told a special court on Monday that the former ICICI Bank CEO and MD, Chanda Kochhar, misused the lender's funds for personal use.

The Central Bureau of Investigation on Monday argued before a special CBI court that Chanda Kochhar misused her position to grant loans to Videocon Group firms, which were ineligible for any loans from the bank. The agency, as per reports, also said that the Kochhars got a luxury apartment in CCI Chambers in Churchgate in 2016 for just Rs 11 lakh.

Chanda Kochhar was MD and CEO of ICICI Bank between May 2009 and January 2019, in which capacity she was entrusted with the bank's funds, the CBI told the court.

She was liable to discharge such trust in accordance with Reserve Bank of India guidelines and the loan policies of ICICI Bank, the CBI argued. She conspired with the other accused persons to sanction or get sanctioned credit facilities in their favour.

In furtherance of the criminal conspiracy, a term loan of Rs 300 crore to Videocon International Electronics was sanctioned in August 2009 by the committee of directors headed by Chanda Kochhar, according to a PTI report.

The loan amount was disbursed through a complex structure involving various companies of Videocon, and Rs 64 crore was transferred under the garb of investment to NuPower Renewable Ltd., owned by her husband, Deepak Kochhar, the court was told.

The special public prosecutor further submitted that Chanda Kochhar resided in a flat in Mumbai owned by Videocon Group. The flat was subsequently transferred to her family trust (of which Deepak Kochhar is the managing trustee) for a meagre amount of Rs 11 lakh in October 2016, while the actual value of the flat was Rs 5.25 crore in 1996.

With inputs from PTI