Venugopal Dhoot held because Kochhar couple asked why not him, says lawyer
The CBI has alleged that ICICI Bank had sanctioned credit facilities to the tune of Rs 3,250 crore to companies of the Videocon Group promoted by Dhoot
- Jan 4, 2023,
- Updated Jan 4, 2023 2:56 PM IST
Venugopal Dhoot was arrested despite turning an approver because his co-accused — former ICICI Bank MD and CEO Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak Kochhar — had questioned CBI why he was not arrested in the ICICI Bank-Videocon loan case.
The Kochhars said during their first remand hearing why he had not been held so far, the Videocon Chairman’s lawyer told a special court Tuesday, reported Indian Express on Wednesday. Dhoot was subsequently arrested 'mechanically', his lawyer Sandeep Ladda told the court.
In late December, a special CBI court in Mumbai sent Kochhars and Videocon group founder Venugopal Dhoot to 14-day judicial custody in connection with the alleged loan fraud case.
The CBI had named the Kochhars and Dhoot, along with companies Nupower Renewables (NRL) managed by Deepak Kochhar, Supreme Energy Private Limited (SEPL), Videocon International Electronics Ltd (VIEL) and Videocon Industries Limited, as accused in its FIR registered in 2019 under Indian Penal Code sections related to criminal conspiracy and the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The CBI has alleged that ICICI Bank had sanctioned credit facilities to the tune of Rs 3,250 crore to companies of the Videocon Group promoted by Dhoot in violation of the Banking Regulation Act, RBI guidelines, and credit policy of the bank.
According to the CBI, a sanctioning committee headed by Chanda Kochhar in 2009 approved a term loan of Rs 300 crore to VIEL in contravention of the rules and policies of the bank by abusing her official position as a public servant.
The day after the loan was disbursed, Dhoot transferred Rs 64 crore to NRL from VIEL through SEPL.
Venugopal Dhoot was arrested despite turning an approver because his co-accused — former ICICI Bank MD and CEO Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak Kochhar — had questioned CBI why he was not arrested in the ICICI Bank-Videocon loan case.
The Kochhars said during their first remand hearing why he had not been held so far, the Videocon Chairman’s lawyer told a special court Tuesday, reported Indian Express on Wednesday. Dhoot was subsequently arrested 'mechanically', his lawyer Sandeep Ladda told the court.
In late December, a special CBI court in Mumbai sent Kochhars and Videocon group founder Venugopal Dhoot to 14-day judicial custody in connection with the alleged loan fraud case.
The CBI had named the Kochhars and Dhoot, along with companies Nupower Renewables (NRL) managed by Deepak Kochhar, Supreme Energy Private Limited (SEPL), Videocon International Electronics Ltd (VIEL) and Videocon Industries Limited, as accused in its FIR registered in 2019 under Indian Penal Code sections related to criminal conspiracy and the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The CBI has alleged that ICICI Bank had sanctioned credit facilities to the tune of Rs 3,250 crore to companies of the Videocon Group promoted by Dhoot in violation of the Banking Regulation Act, RBI guidelines, and credit policy of the bank.
According to the CBI, a sanctioning committee headed by Chanda Kochhar in 2009 approved a term loan of Rs 300 crore to VIEL in contravention of the rules and policies of the bank by abusing her official position as a public servant.
The day after the loan was disbursed, Dhoot transferred Rs 64 crore to NRL from VIEL through SEPL.