LI Network
Published on: 26 December 2022 at 14:10 IST
As per Reports Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested Venugopal Dhoot, chairman of Videocon group, from Mumbai in connection with alleged cheating and irregularities in loans sanctioned by ICICI Bank to Videocon Group companies.
ICICI bank and Chanda Kochhar have been under regulatory scrutiny on March 29, 2018 that Venugopal Dhoot provided crores of rupees to a firm he had set up with Deepak Kochhar and two relatives six months after his firm got Rs 3,250 crore as loan from ICICI Bank in 2012.
In 2019, the CBI lodged an FIR against the Kochhars, Dhoot, and firms including Nupower Renewables and Videocon Industries, for allegedly cheating ICICI Bank of Rs 1,730 crore. In its FIR, the CBI also named Supreme Energy Pvt Ltd, Videocon International Electronics Ltd (VIEL) and unknown public servants as accused.
It alleged that “the accused (Chanda Kochhar) sanctioned certain loans to private companies in a criminal conspiracy with other accused to cheat ICICI Bank”. The case was filed under sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The CBI said the amount was part of the Rs 40,000-crore loan that the Videocon Group secured from a consortium of 20 banks led by SBI. Almost 86 per cent of the Rs 3,250 crore loan (Rs 2,810 crore) remained unpaid. The Videocon account was declared a non-performing asset (NPA) in 2017.
CBI alleged said, Chanda Kochhar, “dishonestly” abused her official position to disburse this loan on September 7, 2008 and the very next day, her husband’s firm Nupower Renewables received Rs 64 crore from Videocon Industries Ltd (VIL) to acquire its first power plant.
CBI Mentioned in the FIR,“…Chanda Kochhar got illegal gratification/undue benefit through her husband from Dhoot for sanctioning RTL (rupee term loan) of Rs 300 crore to M/s VIEL,”.