• Source:JND
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AMID the ongoing investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the Videocon loan case, the probe agency on Monday arrested the company's group chairman, Venugopal Dhoot. The CBI had earlier arrested the former CEO and MD of ICICI Bank, Chanda Kochhar, and her husband, Deepak Kochhar, in relation to the money laundering case. They were produced before the Mumbai special court by the probe agency on Saturday, December 24.

Who is Chanda Kochhar?

The 59-Year-Old Chanda Kochhar is a former managing director and CEO of ICICI Bank. In 2011, she was also given the Padma Bhusan, India's highest civilian award.She was also featured for seven consecutive years in 'The World's 100 Most Powerful Women' released by Forbes International.
She had to resign as CEO and managing director of the bank in October 2018 over allegations that she favoured the Videocon Group. However, the bank stated that she had violated the bank's code of conduct and internal policies and that her departure would be considered "termination for cause."

What is the case?

The Videocon Loan Fraud Case is related to the alleged quid pro quo by Chand Kochhar, then MD and CEO of ICICI Bank, for a Rs 3,250 crore loan to the Videocon Group in 2012.

A loan of Rs 3,250 crore was given by the ICICI bank to the Videocon Group, which is controlled by industrialist Venugopal Dhoot. This transaction took place at a time when Chanda was leading the bank. According to the probe body, the Videocon group had made around 28 proposals to the ICICI bank, and out of them, 8 were also passed by the Kochhar-led team. She was a member of the team that recommended and passed four proposals made by the group.

Between 2009 and 2011, the bank initially issued loans of Rs 1,875 crore to the Videocon Group, and according to the investigative body, most of these loans violated the banking regulations and the ICICI Bank policies.

Dhoot's company, Supreme Energy, issued a loan of Rs 64 crore to NuPower Renewables, where Deepak Kocchar had a stake of around 50 percent.

A total of six loans worth Rs 1,875 crore were cleared by the ICICI Bank for the Videocon Group and the other companies associated with it during 2009–11.