CBI arrests Videocon chief Dhoot over loan fraud case
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday arrested Videocon Group chairman Venugopal Dhoot for allegedly paying bribes to former ICICI Bank chief executive Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak Kochhar for loans to his companies, people familiar with the development said.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday arrested Videocon Group chairman Venugopal Dhoot for allegedly paying bribes to former ICICI Bank chief executive Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak Kochhar for loans to his companies, people familiar with the development said.
The Kochhars were arrested by the federal investigating agency on Friday and questioned over the weekend about the alleged irregularities. They are currently in CBI custody.
Dhoot, 71, was taken into custody by CBI in Mumbai after brief questioning on Monday, during which he was said to be evasive on queries related to loans received by his companies during Chanda Kochhar’s tenure and subsequent bribes, the officials said, asking not to be named.
The businessman, who heads a conglomerate with presence in consumer electronics and home appliances, oil and gas, and real estate, among others, has been interrogated multiple times over the past four years. The agency arrested him on Monday under the Prevention of Corruption Act and for criminal conspiracy based on documentary evidence, which supposedly showed he bribed the Kochhars to avail of loans from ICICI Bank, an officer said.
Following the Kochhars’ arrest, CBI informed a Mumbai court on Saturday that “Chanda Kochhar has not cooperated in the investigation by giving vague replies”.
“During investigation, Chanda Kochhar has denied her knowledge about these pecuniary transactions between her husband and VN Dhoot and has not disclosed true and full facts pertaining to the allegations in the First Information Report (filed in January 2019),” said CBI in its remand paper submitted in court.
The agency has alleged that a sanctioning committee headed by Chanda Kochhar, on August 26, 2009, sanctioned loans worth ₹300 crore to Videocon International Electronics in contravention of rules and policies of ICICI Bank in criminal conspiracy with the co-accused by abusing her official position.
“The loan was disbursed on September 7, 2009, and on the very next date, – September 8, 2009, Dhoot transferred ₹64 crore to M/s NRL (a company managed by Deepak Kochhar) from Videocon Industries Limited through his company Supreme Energy Pvt Ltd,” CBI said.
Chanda Kochhar stepped down from her position at ICICI Bank in October 2018 after allegations of irregularities surfaced against her.
A CBI court in Mumbai on Monday remanded the Kochhars and Dhoot in CBI custody till December 28 in connection with the loan fraud case. All three were produced before special court judge AS Sayyad.
CBI, represented by special public prosecutor A Limosin, sought three-day custody to confront all the accused.
The investigating agency has said that between June 2009 and October 2011, ICICI Bank, under Kochhar, sanctioned loans of ₹1,875 crore to six companies of Videocon Group to enable them to repay the unsecured loan availed by these companies from Videocon Industries. “All these loans were sanctioned after Chanda Kochhar took over the charge of ICICI Bank as MD & CEO. Out of the 06 loans, Chanda Kochhar was one of the committee members in two loans,” it said last week.
It has also said that as part of another quid pro quo, Chanda Kochhar “was residing in a flat without consideration during the period she dealt with loan proposal of Videocon Group and sanctioned/recommended for sanction as a member of the committee”.
“The flat was under litigation for possession between Videocon Industries Limited and Deepak Kochhar. Subsequently, the flat (valued at Rs. 5.25 Crores in 1996) was transferred to Quality Advisor, a family trust of Deepak Kochhar at meagre amount of ₹11 lakhs in 2016,” CBI added.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED), too, has investigated the matter under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and filed a charge sheet in November 2020, alleging that the Kochhars and Dhoot used a web of companies to launder money received as bribe.
Deepak Kochhar was arrested by ED in September 2020 before he was granted bail in March 2021.
ED has said it is investigating 24 loans aggregating ₹7,862 crore that it believes ICICI Bank loaned “illegally and criminally” to the Videocon Group when Chanda Kochhar was in charge of the bank between 2009 and 2018.
“On Saturday evening, summons were served by CBI to Mr Dhoot to appear before the investigating agency. He couldn’t appear because he was out of station and appeared before them on Monday morning. He was ready to cooperate. If his intention was not to cooperate he would have moved for anticipatory bail. The notice served was under Section 41A of CrPC, which has a provision that the accused need not be arrested. So CBI breached his own notice and so we’ll approach the appropriate court challenging the non- application of mind by CBI,” said Dhoot’s advocate S Ladda.
Ladda told Mint that in the very offence considering Dhoot’s cooperation, ED never arrested Dhoot, and a PMLA court also released him on bail in the very same offence is itself proof of Mr Dhoot’s Cooperation. “Further, it was not only ICICI bank, but a consortium of 26 banks that lent money to Videocon so there cannot be any quid pro quo,” he said.