Videocon CEO Dhoot, ex-ICICI MD Chanda Kochhar & husband sent to CBI custody till Dec 28

Two days after the arrest of former ICICI Bank MD and CEO Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak Kochhar, the Central Bureau of Investigation on Saturday, arrested Venugopal Dhoot, chairman of Videocon Group, from Mumbai in connection with a Rs 3,000 crore loan fraud case. The Kochhars were produced with Dhoot before the court, which sent them to CBI custody till December 28. 

Loan fraud case

The CBI had named the Kochhars and Dhoot, along with companies Nupower Renewables (NRL) managed by Deepak Kochhar, Supreme Energy, Videocon International Electronics Ltd, and Videocon Industries Limited, as accused in the FIR registered under IPC sections related to criminal conspiracy and provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act in 2019.

The CBI alleged that ICICI bank had sanctioned credit facilities to the tune of Rs 3,250 crore to the companies of Videocon Group promoted by Dhoot in violation of the Banking Regulation Act, RBI guidelines, and credit policy of the bank. It was alleged that during the tenure of Chanda Kochhar at ICICI Bank, six loans worth Rs 1,875 crore were cleared for the Videocon Group and its associated companies during 2009-11. It was alleged that Chanda Kochhar was on the sanctioning committee deciding two loans -- Rs 300 crore to Videocon International Electronics Limited (VIEL) on August 26, 2009, and Rs 750 crore to Videocon Industries Limited on October 31, 2011.

It was further alleged that a day after the Rs 300-crore loan was disbursed by ICICI Bank to VIEL, Dhoot transferred Rs 64 crore to Nupower Renewables, through Supreme Energy Pvt Ltd (SEPL) and transferred SEPL to Pinnacle Energy Trust managed by Deepak Kochhar through a circuitous route between 2010 and 2012.