CBI gets 3-day custody of Videocon chairman Venugopal Dhoot in loan fraud case

India

oi-Prakash KL

The
CBI
advocate
claimed
that
they
sought
custody
as
they
want
to
confront
‘all’
of
them.

New
Delhi,
Dec
26:
The
Central
Bureau
of
Investigation
(CBI)
has
got
3-day
custody
of
Videocon
chairman
Venugopal
Dhoot,
former
MD
and
CEO
of
ICICI
bank
Chanda
Kochhar
and
Deepak
Kochhar
in
connection
with
the
ICICI
bank-Videocon
loan
fraud
case.

The
CBI
advocate
said
they
have
sought
custody
as
they
want
to
confront
‘all’ of
them.
Earlier
in
the
day,
Dhoot
was
arrested
by
the
CBI.
It
comes
three
days
after
the
arrest
of
former
ICICI
Bank
managing
director,
Chanda
Kochhar’s
arrest.
Her
husband
Deepika
Kochhar
too
was
arrested
in
connection
with
the
same
case.

Dhoot
had
been
questioned
several
times
over
the
past
four
years
and
was
today
arrested
on
the
basis
of
documentary
evidence,
in
which
it
was
shown
that
he
had
allegedly
bribed
the
Kochhars
for
availing
loans
at
the
private
bank.
The
Kochhars
are
being
questioned
since
their
arrest
on
Friday.
Chanda
Kochhar
stepped
down
as
the
Managing
Director
in
October
2018
after
allegations
of
irregularities
surfaced.

‘Mahagathbandhan’
cries
foul
over
CBI
reopening
case
against
Lalu
Prasad
Yadav

In
the
First
Information
Report
(FIR)
filed
in
January
2019,
the
CBI
alleged
that
there
were
irregularities
in
six
high
value
loans
worth
Rs
1,875
crore
disbursed
to
Videocon
Group
between
June
2009
and
October
2011.

The
CBI
claimed
that
the
Kochhars
allegedly
got
Rs
64
crore
bribe
from
Dhoot
a
day
before
the
bank
disbursed
a
loan
of
Rs
300
crore
to
Videocon
International
Electronics
Ltd
in
August
2009.

According
to
a
PTI
report,
the
CBI
had
taken
into
custody
Chanda
Kochhar
and
her
husband
Deepak
alleging
that
they
were
not
cooperating
with
the
investigation,
and
giving
evasive
replies.
Chanda
Kochhar
has
denied
knowledge
of
any
pecuniary
transactions
between
her
husband
and
Dhoot,
the
agency
had
claimed
during
remand
proceedings
at
a
CBI
Special
Court
in
Mumbai
on
December
24.
Senior
advocate
Amit
Desai,
appearing
for
the
Kochhars,
had
opposed
the
remand,
saying
the
“main
borrower
of
the
loan
has
not
been
arrested,
and
the
present
accused
were
not
the
beneficiary
of
any
amount.

Desai
had
also
brought
to
the
court’s
notice
a
letter
written
by
the
ICICI
Bank
to
the
CBI
in
July
202I
stating
that
there
was
no
wrongful
loss
to
it
in
any
of
the
transactions
under
question.

The
CBI
had
named
the
Kochhars
and
Dhoot,
along
with
companies
Nupower
Renewables
(NRL)
managed
by
Deepak
Kochhar,
Supreme
Energy,
Videocon
International
Electronics
Ltd,
and
Videocon
Industries
Limited,
as
accused
in
the
FIR
registered
under
IPC
sections
related
to
criminal
conspiracy
and
provisions
of
the
Prevention
of
Corruption
Act
in
2019,
they
said.

The
CBI
had
alleged
that
ICICI
Bank
had
sanctioned
credit
facilities
to
the
tune
of
Rs
3,250
crore
to
the
companies
of
Videocon
Group
promoted
by
Dhoot
in
violation
of
the
Banking
Regulation
Act,
RBI
guidelines,
and
credit
policy
of
the
bank.

It
was
also
alleged
that
as
a
part
of
the
quid
pro
quo,
Dhoot
made
an
investment
of
Rs
64
crore
in
Nupower
Renewables
through
Supreme
Energy
Pvt
Ltd
(SEPL)
and
transferred
SEPL
to
Pinnacle
Energy
Trust
managed
by
Deepak
Kochhar
through
a
circuitous
route
between
2010
and
2012.