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.
IBoard defends MD on nepotism charges, quashes allegations; it also reviewed its internal processes and exposure to the Videocon group
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
The CBI later clarified that Rajiv Kochhar was only called for questioning and has not been apprehended yet.
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.
In addition, he will have to move swiftly to control any damage that may have been caused to the bank's image and investor confidence due to the loan controversy
How Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak Kochhar find themselves in a huge controversy.
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).
The RBI, according to the source, wants details on the procedure followed for credit appraisal by the bank while giving loans to Videocon.
'... not even a moral one, let alone a legal one.' 'Even if it is assumed that Deepak Kochhar tried to influence his wife into doing something dodgy for his 'social acquaintance', why would she do it?' 'By all accounts she has been granted share options in ICICI Bank of a very substantial amount which easily makes her a multi billion-pati.' 'She did not become CEO against some stiff competition by being stupid and concocting devious cock-and-bull renewable energy stories.' S Murlidharan, former managing director, BNP Paribas, unravels the Deepak Kochhar-Videocon controversy.
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'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.
In Chanda's defence, one can always say, why would the Videocon Group take care of her husband as a quid pro quo to get a loan? After all, the group has taken money from the entire banking industry and ICICI Bank's share in the pie is not even 10 per cent. So, if it had a quid pro quo with Chanda to get the money, it must have had similar arrangements with other banks, too. If this is not the case, one must accept that it had got money from all banks, including ICICI, without any under-the-table conditions, points out Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
'She was either overconfident that nothing will happen to her or she underestimated the gravity of the allegations.'
Moreover, all her existing and future entitlements such as any unpaid amounts, unpaid bonuses or increments, unvested and vested and unexercised stock options, and medical benefits will be revoked.
The report concluded that she failed to discharge her fiduciary functions to rescue herself to avoid any conflict of interest.
'We focused on de-risking our balance sheet but we are very clear that the steps we have taken over the past few years, about changing the proportion of the loan mix, improving the ratings of the incremental portfolio, and reducing the concentration risks have now created a strong position that will allow us to attain growth with stability.'
Its registration is unusual because the firm appears twice in the RoC database, but different identification numbers.
The ICICI board, which consists 12 members, is divided on whether Kochhar should be on leave during the internal enquiry
The regulator will now call Chanda and ICICI Bank's representatives for a personal hearing as part of adjudication proceedings launched against them.
Blind spots of the company were two-fold - managing cash flow and investments to upgrade technology and continue research and development.
Banking is a boring business but still the banker should enjoy it as fancy awards and cozy relationships with politicians, Bollywood stars and corporate honchos cannot save them if the job is not done properly. In the concluding part of the series Tamal Bandyopadhyay wonders how long Kochhar would need to wait for her redemption or downfall and atonement.
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