ICICI Bank-Videocon loan case: ICICI tells CBI that Videocon loans caused no wrongful loss

In an official communication to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the Chanda Kochhar case, ICICI Bank has said that there has been "no wrongful loss" caused to the bank while granting its sanction to prosecute former MD and CEO Chanda Kochhar.  

Chanda Kochhar, her husband Deepak Kochhar, and Videocon Group's promoter, V N Dhoot, have been charged in an alleged loan fraud scam case of Rs 3,250 crore, and all three were named in CBI's 11,000-page chargesheet. 

In a note to the CBI, ICICI Bank said that the board deliberated on the need for reiterating that it had not incurred “any wrongful loss” and that due process had been followed in sanctioning loans to Videocon companies, a report in The Economic Times said. 

The bank added that this has no connection to "whether the alleged crime(s) has/have been committed." The note dated May 15 hadn't been made public previously, the report said. 

The communication read: “It was noted that Justice Dr Arijit Pasayat (retd) has also opined that approval for sanction to prosecute Chanda Kochhar if granted by the board, should specifically state the bank's stand as stated while granting approval under Section 17 A of the Prevention of Corruption Act." ICICI Bank had sought Pasayat's opinion on the matter.  

Earlier this month, CBI had told the court that the ICICI Bank’s Board has given sanction to prosecute Kochhar under the Prevention of Corruption Act. It is learnt that while the board gave its go-ahead to prosecute Kochhar.

The bank said it has sought opinion for all six standalone loans to Videocon Group companies -- Millennium Appliances India Ltd, Videocon International Electronics Ltd, Sky Appliances Ltd, Techno Electronics Ltd, Applicomp India Ltd and Videocon Industries Ltd – which are being investigated by the CBI. 

The bank said: "Hence there was no issue of wrongful loss and violation or contravention of rules and policy. The stand of the bank continues to be the same.” 

The bank further said that if a manager accepts a bribe to sanction a loan, but this is repaid with interest, then there is no loss to the lender. 

The bank in its note to CBI said: “Board further noted that the question whether financial loss has been occasioned on account of impugned transactions is not the determinative factor while dealing with the issue as to whether the alleged crime(s) has/have been committed.”  

CBI case  

On Monday, the CBI told the special CBI court that after the commencement of a preliminary enquiry (PE) against former ICICI Bank chief Chanda Kochhar and her husband, Deepak, the latter paid income tax of Rs 1.53 crore on income of Rs 3.42 crore received by the family-held trust which owned a south Mumbai flat that is at the heart of the CBI case. 

This comes after the CBI asked the Bombay High Court to take cognisance of its chargesheet, claiming that Kochhar "misappropriated the bank's funds for her own use" and got Rs 64 crore as "illegal gratification". 

The flat, and a loan of Rs 64 crore received by Deepak Kochhar's company NuPower Renewables (NRL), are the two instances of alleged 'bribery' claimed by the CBI in its probe in what has come to be known as the ICICI-Videocon loan case. 

On Monday, the CBI presented the evidence against the accused and asked the court to take cognisance of the chargesheet filed by it in April against the Kochhar couple, Videocon Group chairman VN Dhoot and others. The court has adjourned the matter to July 12. Cognisance in legal parlance paves the way for commencement of trial against an accused. 

The CBI has said that the trust held by Kochhars had a flat in CCI Chambers in Churchgate in 2016 from Videocon group for just Rs 11 lakh, while its value back then was Rs 5.3 crore. Meanwhile, their son also bought a flat in the same building on the same floor in November 2021 for Rs 19.11 crore. 

In August 2009, a Rupee Term Loan (RTL) of Rs 300 crore was sanctioned to Videocon International Electronics Limited by the ICICI Bank committee of directors, which was headed by Chanda Kochhar. The loan was disbursed on September 7, 2009. 

The CBI prosecutor said that Videocon, through its complex web of companies, transferred Rs 64 crore to Deepak’s company M/s NuPower Renewable Ltd (NRL). 

He added that Kochhar approved two loans: RTL of Rs 300 crore to M/s Videocon International Electronics Limited (VIEL) and RTL of Rs 750 crore to M/s Videocon Industries Limited (VIL).   

The CBI added that of the Rs 300 crore sanctioned to VIEL, Rs 64 crore was transferred by Dhoot to Deepak Kochhar’s company a day after the loan was disbursed on September 7, 2009. 

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