The Income-Tax Department has questioned ICICI Bank CEO and MD Chanda Kochhar’s husband Deepak Kochhar as part of its investigation into the Videocon loan case, The Indian Express today reported, citing sources.
According to the report, the I-T Dept is probing investments by two Mauritius-based entities in Kochhar’s NuPower Renewables Private Ltd a few weeks before ICICI Bank gave a loan of Rs 3,250 crore to the Videocon Group in 2012. Kochhar was questioned for a few hours on May 4, the report said.
The development comes almost a month after the tax authority had asked Deepak Kochhar to furnish all the details regarding personal finances, income tax returns for the past many years, and business dealings with NuPower Renewables.
The I-T Department had also asked Kochhar to explain the flow of about Rs 325 crore from two Mauritius-based firms – First Land Holding Limited and DH Renewables Holding Limited – to his company NuPower Renewables Private Ltd.
Currently, there are three investigating agencies that are probing the charges of favouritism and quid pro quo in the Rs 3250 crore Videocon loan case.
The Income-Tax Department has become the first agency to question Deepak Kochhar. The questioning was likely to continue next week, the report said.
Chanda Kochhar and Deepak Kochhar are in the eye of the storm after whistleblower Arvind Gupta alleged that the ICICI Bank declared Rs 2,810 crore outstanding loan to Videocon Group as NPA months after Deepak Kochhar amassed huge wealth through shady transactions with Videocon Chairman Venugopal Dhoot.
The loan was issued in 2012 when Chanda Kochhar was heading the bank. The loan was linked to a possible quid pro quo between Venugopal Dhoot and Deepak Kochhar, and Chanda Kochhar was accused of favouritism and conflict of interest.
However, Deepak Kochhar in an interview to India Today said that Chanda was not even aware of his business dealings with Dhoot. He said: “Where is the conflict of interest? ICICI Bank will have relationship with all top corporate in India. If I can’t touch any corporate who deals with ICICI, is it fair to me? Can I function like this?”
