Mumbai: Former ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar has been found guilty of accepting a Rs 64-crore bribe in return for sanctioning a Rs 300-crore loan to the Videocon Group.
In a first of its kind in banking and corporate fraud investigations in India, an appellate tribunal confirmed that the payment amounted to a clear quid pro quo, routed indirectly through her husband Deepak Kochhar’s company — in violation of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and ICICI Bank’s internal policies.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which has been investigating the case for several years, had alleged that Kochhar abused her position of authority to extend financial favours in return for personal gain.
Hence, the tribunal’s ruling, issued on July 3, marks a critical point in the Videocon bank loan fraud case.
According to The Times of India, the appellate tribunal’s findings outlined how a payment of Rs 64 crore was transferred from Videocon’s subsidiary, Supreme Energy Pvt Ltd (SEPL), to NuPower Renewables Pvt Ltd (NRPL) — a company effectively controlled by Chanda’s husband Deepak — a day after ICICI Bank disbursed the Rs 300-crore loan to Videocon.
NRPL was owned by Videocon Chairman Venugopal Dhoot on paper, but the tribunal came to the conclusion that Deepak, who served as its Managing Director at the time, controlled its actual operation.
“The allegations stand corroborated by evidence and the statements recorded under Section 50 of the PMLA Act,” said the Appellate Tribunal order.
Criticising Chanda’s failure to disclose her husband’s business ties with the loan recipient, the tribunal found it to be a blatant breach of conflict-of-interest rules and a violation of fiduciary duties.
The tribunal pointed out that Chanda was an integral part of the loan-sanctioning committee that approved the disbursal of funds to Videocon, despite the existence of personal financial linkages. This amounted to an “abuse of official position for undue advantage.”
The tribunal reversed the November 2020 decision by the adjudicating authority, which had ordered the release of assets worth Rs 78 crore attached by the ED, saying that the authority had “ignored crucial material facts” and made findings that were “contrary to the record.”
“The adjudicating authority ignored crucial material facts and drew conclusions that contradict the record. Therefore, we cannot endorse its findings,” the tribunal ruling stated, as per The Times of India report.
Chanda and Deepak were arrested by the CBI in December 2022. In February 2024, the couple’s arrest was deemed to be ‘abuse of power’ by the Bombay High Court.
