The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday questioned former ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak Kochhar in an ongoing probe into the alleged irregularities in the sanctioning of a Rs 1,875 crore loan by the bank to the Videocon Group.
Their questioning began soon after they deposed before the investigators. The duo appeared before the ED headquarters in New Delhi at around 10.30 am following the agency’s summons.
Delhi: Former ICICI Bank CEO and MD Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak Kochhar were summoned by Enforcement Directorate, in connection with ICICI-Videocon loan case. https://t.co/vTPnn2vEbn
— ANI (@ANI) May 13, 2019
The case is related to the alleged irregularities and corrupt practices in the sanction of a Rs 1,875 crore loan disbursed by ICICI Bank to the Videocon Group during 2009 and 2011.
The ED got clues about an illegal transaction running to crores of rupees routed to NuPower, a company run by Deepak Kochhar.
Earlier in April, the Kochhars were questioned on many occasions in Mumbai. However, this is their first appearance before the ED in Delhi.
ALSO READ: Amit Shah denied permission to hold rally in West Bengal’s Jadavpur: Report
Besides in March, the central agency had conducted a series of searches at the residence and office premises of Kochhars as part of its investigations and also questioned them along with Videocon Group promoter Venugopal Dhoot.
Allegedly, Dhoot had invested in NuPower Renewables Ltd through his firm Supreme Energy as quid-pro-quo for loans cleared by the ICICI Bank under Chanda Kochhar.
Out of the Rs 40,000 crore loan to the Videocon group, Rs 3,250 crore was given by ICICI Bank and a large portion of the loan by ICICI was unpaid at the end of 2017.