Chanda Kochhar, the beleaguered former chief executive officer of ICICI Bank and her husband Deepak, have been granted bail by the Bombay high court in the mulit-crore bank loan fraud case. The court said the couple's arrest was not in accordance with law.
Kochhar and her husband were arrested on December 23 by the Central Bureau Investigation (CBI) over alleged quid pro quo also involving Videocon Group founder Venugopal Dhoot.
Having joined the private bank as a management trainee in 1984, Chanda Kochhar rose to become the first woman to head a large bank in the country in 2009, having succeeded the then group chairman KV Kamath. However, her fall from grace was attributed to allegations of conflict of interest and quid pro quo due to deals between Dhoot and her husband.
Here's what you need to know about this high-profile case involving one of the leading bankers of the country.
1. The CBI alleged that the ICICI Bank granted rupee term loans worth ₹1,875 crore to six Videocon Group companies between 2009 and 2011 soon after Chanda Kochhar took over as the managing director and chief executive officer.
2. On September 7, 2009, a loan worth ₹300 crore was allegedly approved to Videocon International Electronics Limited with Kochhar as the head of the sanctions committee.
3. Out of this, the Videocon Group allegedly transferred ₹64 crore to NuPower Renewables, the company which was managed by Deepak Kochhar.
4. In its FIR registered in 2019, the CBI had named Chanda Kochhar, Deepak Kochhar, Videocon Group founder Venugopal Dhoot, Nupower Renewables (managed by Deepak Kochhar), Supreme Energy, Videocon International Electronics Ltd and Videocon Industries Ltd as accused.
2. The central agency claimed ICICI Bank sanctioned loans worth ₹3,250 crore to these companies. Dhoot is said to have invested ₹64 crore in Deepak Kochhar-managed Nupower through Supreme Energy Private Limited, and transferred the company to Pinnacle Energy Trust which was again managed by Chanda Kochhar's husband.
3. As per the probe agency, the ICICI Bank granted loans worth ₹1,875 crore to six firms of the Videocon Group between June 2009 and October 2011 after Kochhar took over as MD and CEO.
4. A loan worth ₹300 crore was allegedly sanctioned to Videocon International Electronics Limited when Kochhar was heading the sanctions committee.
5. After the loan was disbursed on September 7, 2009, the Videocon Group through its firm Supreme Energy transferred ₹64 crore to Deepak Kochhar's NuPower Renewables.