The Bombay high court on Thursday granted bail to Deepak Kochhar, husband of former ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar, in a money laundering case registered by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Kocchar had approached the high court after a special court in Mumbai rejected his bail in December last year. Justice P D Naik of the high court granted bail to him on merits on Thursday.
ED orders Chanda Kochhar to appear with asset lists also provide income-tax returns in her individual capacity and of companies if she was a director or held any position.
Indian economist Kalpana Kochhar, who heads the Human Resources Department of the International Monetary Fund, is leaving the organisation to join the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the IMF announced on Wednesday. Kochhar, who served in various senior positions during her three decades at the IMF, will retire on July 30, it said.
The ED is of the opinion that the authority stepped into the shoes of the trial court and commented on the preliminary investigation done by the CBI in the impugned order.
A Mumbai court on Tuesday rejected a bail plea of businessman Deepak Kochhar, husband of former ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar and an accused in a money laundering case. He was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in September under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in the alleged ICICI Bank-Videocon money laundering case. Special PMLA judge P P Rajvaidya rejected the `regular' bail application of Deepak Kochhar, filed on merits of the case as against technical grounds.
Until June 2018, the ICICI Bank board had given a clean chit to Kochhar with full backing and had said there was no question of favouritism, nepotism or conflict of interest on her part in granting loans to Videocon Industries or any other company. However, the stance changed soon after the regulatory and probe agencies initiated enquiry in the matter.
Chanda Kochhar, the high-profile ex-banker had on November 30 moved the Bombay high court challenging "termination" of her employment by ICICI Bank which also denied her remuneration and clawed back all the bonuses and stock options between April 2009 and March 2018 for her alleged role in granting out of turn loans worth Rs 3,250 crore to the Videocon Group which benefitted her husband Deepak Kochhar. A division Bench of justices Ranjit More and SP Tavade allowed her to implead RBI and directed the apex bank to file its reply by December 16.
The panel is believed to have examined each financial transaction between the Kochhar family and Videocon group, and the suspected trail of properties and assets that the family acquired since Chanda Kochar became ICICI Bank's MD.
The agency is also preparing to analyse the details of assets of the Kochhars and others so that they can be provisionally attached under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act
Kochhar is required to assist the investigating officer of the case in taking the probe forward and her statement will be recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
In his statement to the Enforcement Directorate, Dhoot conceded that Rs 64 crore had been transferred to Deepak Kochhar's NuPower Renewables through a web of entities to allegedly acquire wind farm properties.
The FIR also said chairman of New Development Bank K V Kamath, Goldman Sachs India chairman Sonjoy Chatterjee, Standard Chartered Bank CEO Zarin Daruwala, Tata Capital head Rajiv Sabharwal and Tata Capital senior advisor Homi Khusrokhan need to be investigated.
It is alleged that during the tenure of Chanda Kochhar, six loans worth Rs 1,875 crore were cleared for the Videocon Group and its associated companies, in which in two cases she herself was on the sanctioning committees.
The bench was hearing Kochhar's appeal against the March 5 order of the high court which had dismissed the plea against termination of her services as managing director and CEO of ICICI Bank while noting that the dispute arises from a contract of personal service.
The CBI later clarified that Rajiv Kochhar was only called for questioning and has not been apprehended yet.
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'I am not surprised that hubris brought Chanda Kochhar down. It would appear that as a person she thought she could do no wrong and as a leader she considered herself above what her company demanded of others in terms of financial probity and honesty. That, my friends, is NOT a good way for a leader to feel,' says S Muraleedharan, former managing director, BNP Paribas.
Kochhar retires by rotation, and being eligible, has offered herself for reappointment as director, said the broking arm in a notice for its Annual General Meeting to be held on August 30
Kochhar was directed to return about Rs 10 crore in cash bonuses she had received as CEO, and also give up close to 6 million shares of the bank she had as stock option, which was about Rs 350 crore.
'She was either overconfident that nothing will happen to her or she underestimated the gravity of the allegations.'
Institutional Investor Advisory Services had recommended investors to vote 'against' the proposal, while Stakeholders Empowerment Services asked investors to vote 'for' the proposal.
The ICICI board, which consists 12 members, is divided on whether Kochhar should be on leave during the internal enquiry
Interestingly, in March 2018, the same board of ICICI Bank had given a clean chit to Kochhar with full-backing and had said there was no question of favouritism, nepotism or conflicts of interest on her part in granting loans to Videocon Industries or any other company.
'If she contests it, then these people will have to fight it in court.'
'When Pinnacle Trust bought the stake of Supreme Energy, it included a liability of Rs 640 million. The purchase was at a fair market value (prevailing price) of Rs 8.80 per share,' Deepak Kochhar said in a telephonic conversation with Business Standard.
One of the reasons why conviction rates in India are poor is that "adventurism and megalomania overtakes our investigators and professionalism takes a back seat," Jaitley said on Twitter.
Kochhar's counsel argued that according to Section 35B (b) of the Banking Regulation Act, prior approval of the RBI is required to terminate the contract of a bank's chairman or managing director. But in this case, the RBI approval came after the termination letter was served.
Most legal experts indicate the former ICICI Bank CEO will take the matter to court. Her contention will be she can't be fired and called guilty without proof.
In April last year, tax authorities had questioned Deepak Kochhar over a Rs 405-crore investment by Accion Diversified Strategies Fund through its Mauritius subsidiary, DH Renewables Holding
RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan's decision to not seek a second term is a "personal one" which everybody should respect, Chanda Kochhar MD & CEO, ICICI Bank said.
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There are allegations of involvement of Kochhar and her family members in a loan provided to Videocon group on a quid pro quo basis.
The cases under scanner include significant loan exposure of the bank to Videocon way back in 2012 and the alleged involvement of the Kochhar family in restructuring of that loan.
Chanda Kochhar, became ICICI's first female CEO in May of 2009 - right in the thick of the global financial crisis - not an easy time to be the boss of a bank.
Rajiv Kochhar, who was asked to appear at the CBI office in Mumbai, was examined about the loan and his links with Venugopal Dhoot, the promoter of the Videocon Group, and Videocon.
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Its registration is unusual because the firm appears twice in the RoC database, but different identification numbers.
How Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak Kochhar find themselves in a huge controversy.
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The bank board had decided to launch an enquiry to be headed by an "independent and credible person", to examine and enquire into an anonymous whistle blower complaint alleging that the bank MD & CEO had not adhered to code of conduct
