Chanda Kochhar's plea against sacking has no legal ground: ICICI Bank to HC

Current Affairs
The Bombay High Court on Tuesday heard a request documented by previous ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar testing the legitimacy of her end by the loan specialist. The consultation occurred as the bank restricted a request by Kochhar to keep the issue part-heard before the prior seat of Justices Ranjit More and Surendra Tavade.
The bank is looking for recuperation of sums towards the clawback of rewards given to her from April 2006 to March 2018 after her end of administrations by the bank. Kochhar moved the high court on November 30, 2019, testing "end" of her work by ICICI Bank, which additionally denied her compensation for her supposed job in allowing "out of turn credits worth Rs 3250 crore to Videocon Group which profited her significant other Deepak Kochhar".
The bank had given a composite answer to the court on all the protests raised by Kochhar expressing that Section 35B of the Banking Regulation Act of 1949, under which she is looking for invalidation of the end of her administrations, is an "administrative arrangement". The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had likewise said that its endorsement to the end was inside its ward and was given in the wake of thinking about the solicitation of Kochhar's previous manager. The bank has brought up the criticism that Kochhar's writ request isn't viable, that "it is a private financial organization and the writ appeal tries to challenge what are absolutely private authoritative terms". Consequently, the bank contended that Kochhar's writ request didn't have a lawful premise.
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Prior in January, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) appended resources and money having a place with the Kochhar couple, which incorporated her South Mumbai loft at CCI Chambers, esteemed at Rs 3.5 crore (book esteem)...READ MORE

Former ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar skips ED date; to be summoned again

Company News

Former ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar Monday skipped her scheduled appearance before the ED in a money laundering case probe, citing bad health, officials said.
The probe involves the bank and the Videocon group.Chanda Kochhar will now be asked to depose later this week. She had not appeared before the agency even last week citing health reasons.
Official sources had told PTI earlier this week that the central probe agency is now mulling to call some more bank officials to confront them with the statements made by Chanda Kochhar and obtain further leads.The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had last month questioned and recorded the statements of Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak Kochhar over multiple sessions.
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 (PMLA).Chanda Kochhar's brother-in-law and Deepak's brother, Rajiv Kochhar, has also been grilled by the ED multiple times in the case.
The Kochhar couple have been questioned in the past too at the ED's zonal office in Mumbai after the central agency conducted raids on March 1.The searches were conducted at the premises of Chanda Kochhar, her family and Venugopal Dhoot of Videocon Group in Maharashtra's Mumbai and Aurangabad.

 The ED registered a criminal case under the PMLA earlier this year against Chanda Kochhar, Deepak Kochhar, Dhoot and others to probe alleged irregularities and corrupt practices in sanctioning Rs 1,875-crore of loans by ICICI Bank to the corporate group.This action of the agency was based on an FIR registered by the CBI.

ICICI-Videocon case: Chanda Kochhar, husband appear before ED again

Company News

Former ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak Kochhar on Tuesday again appeared before the Enforcement Directorate here in connection with an alleged bank loan fraud andm oney laundering case registered against them.

They were questioned by the agency on Monday for over eight hours. This was the first time they were grilled in Delhi.

They have been questioned by the agency in Mumbai in March.
The couple arrived at the Enforcement Directorate's headquarters in Khan Market here around their scheduled appearance time of 11:30 am, official sources said.

While it was not immediately known as to what was the ED's line of questioning on Monday, sources said the two were questioned about their personal and official dealings with the Videocon group.
Their statement was recorded under the Prevention of Money LaunderingAct (PMLA) by the investigating officer of the case, they said.

The Kochhars were supposed to depose before the agency early this month but they had then sought an extension of time and were allowed, they said.

Chanda Kochhar's brother-in-law and Deepak's brother, Rajiv Kochhar, has also been grilled by the ED multiple times in the case a few days ago here.Rajiv Kochhar has been questioned by the CBI in the same case in the past as well.


 He is the founder of Singapore-based Avista Advisory and was questioned by the CBI about his company's role in the restructuring of the loan, the sources said.

Videocon loan row: CBI lookout circulars against Chanda Kochhar and husband

Companies News:

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has issued lookout circulars (LOC) against former ICICI Bank chief executive and managing director Chanda Kochhar, her husband Deepak Kochhar, and Videocon Group's Venugopal Dhoot. The development comes weeks after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) registered a criminal case against them for alleged money laundering .

At the behest of the CBI, lookout circulars were issued against Kochhar's husband and Dhoot for all airports last year. According to The Economics Times, this is the first time LOC has been issued against Chanda Kochhar.

“LOCs were filed after the FIR and are mandatory in cases where such economic offences are alleged. In recent times, keeping an eye on travel plans is a top concern for regulators,” ET quoted the official as saying.

Earlier this month, ED had registered a criminal case for alleged money laundering against Kochhar, her husband, Venugopal Dhoot, and others, to probe alleged irregularities and corrupt practices in sanctioning a Rs 1,875-crore loan by the bank to the corporate group.

They said the central probe agency had filed an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, taking cognizance of a CBI complaint filed on the matter last month.

An ECIR is the ED's equivalent of a police FIR.

The officials said the agency would probe if alleged kickbacks generated in the loan deal were laundered to create tainted assets.
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 The ED is soon expected to summon the accused named in the ECIR. The list of accused in the ED case is the same as that of the CBI, they said.

CBI closes in on Chanda Kochhar, husband in ICICI Bank-Videocon loan case

Finance News:

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has named ICICI Bank’s former managing director and chief executive officer (MD and CEO) Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak Kochhar, along with his firms, as “accused” in the Rs 3,250-crore Videocon loan case.

The first information report (FIR) registered on Thursday said the accused, including Videocon Industries (VIL) and its chairman and MD, Venugopal Dhoot, sanctioned certain loans to private companies in a criminal conspiracy and cheated ICICI Bank to the tune of Rs 1,730 crore.

Explaining the modus operandi, the CBI said ICICI Bank sanctioned credit facilities of Rs 3,250 crore to several companies belonging to Videocon group such as Trend Electronics, Century Appliances and others which were in violation of the Banking Regulation Act, Reserve Bank of India rules and the bank’s credit policy. The Rs 3,250-crore credit amount was part of a total loan of Rs 40,000 crore sanctioned to the Videocon group by a 20-bank consortium.


 The agency said it had investigated the quid pro quo where Dhoot made an investment of Rs 64 crore in Deepak Kochhar’s NuPower Renewables through his firm Supreme Energy (SEPL). Dhoot also transferred the same to Pinnacle Energy managed by Kochhar through a “circuitous route” between 2010 and 2012...Read More