ICICI Bank-Videocon case: Chanda Kochhar's brother-in-law being quizzed by CBI in Mumbai

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) questioned ICICI Bank chief executive Chanda Kochhar’s brother-in-law Rajiv Kochhar in connection with a preliminary enquiry (PE) into allegations of nepotism and corruption in loans granted by the private sector lender to the Videocon Group.

“The CBI had recently asked Rajiv Kochhar to join the enquiry. He was questioned in Mumbai on Thursday and then let off,” a CBI official told ET on condition of anonymity.

This came days after the agency questioned a few ICICI Bank executives to ascertain whether there was any wrongdoing in the bank issuing a .`3,250-crore loan to Videocon Group in 2012. ICICI Bank did not immediately respond to ET’s email seeking comment.


Kochhar, a non-resident Indian, is the CEO of Singapore-based Avista Advisory Group which advises companies on financial restructuring, mergers and acquisitions, and fund-raising.

It was alleged that the company may have benefited from its founder’s relationship with the ICICI Bank CEO and got the mandate to restructure foreign currency-denominated debt deals of seven companies, all borrowers of the bank, as part of a quid pro quo.

It was further alleged that the company may have got a commission of as much as 5% for brokering loans from ICICI Bank. The company’s website cited FCCB (foreign currency convertible bonds) restructuring transactions involving JSPL, Suzlon, Videocon Group and Jaiprakash Associates, among others.

On Thursday, according to a PTI report, Kochhar was detained by immigration authorities at the Mumbai international airport and handed over to the CBI. He was stopped from leaving the country by the authorities as the CBI had issued a look-out circular against him, the report said. So Kochhar will have to inform the CBI if he leaves the country.

Earlier, in an interview to ET on April 4, Kochhar had denied any links with ICICI Bank and allegations of any wrongdoing.

“We have no dealings with ICICI Bank at all and even ICICI Bank has made a statement saying that they have never appointed us as advisers for any mandate because this is not a product our firm does,” he had told ET. “There is no link at all because there is no need for us to be dealing with them.”

He had said that his company dealt with only international investors and not Indian banks, and that he did not do business with his brother Deepak, Chanda Kochhar’s husband and founder director of NuPower Renewables, so there was no question of favouritism and conflict of interest. “As a family rule we do not work with each other,” he had said.

However, the CBI is likely to question Deepak Kochhar and Videocon Group chairman Venugopal Dhoot soon, people aware of the matter told ET.

The CBI conducts a PE to ascertain whether an offence has been committed. If the enquiry points to an offence, the agency registers a first information report to probe criminal charges against the entities which are the subject of the PE. If it finds no merit in the allegations, the PE is closed.

In this case, the agency had registered a PE about two months ago into dealings between Deepak Kochhar, Dhoot and unidentified bank officials.

The complaint in this regard was first made by investor Arvind Gupta in 2016 in a letter to the prime minister, the Enforcement Directorate, the CBI, the Reserve Bank of India and other government agencies, seeking a probe into the matter.

The ICICI Bank has twice refuted allegations that it had given a loan to the Videocon Group due to the group’s dealing with the bank CEO’s husband.

Bank chairman MK Sharma said Chanda Kochhar had made all the necessary disclosures. The bank said that it was only one of a consortium of 20 lenders led by State Bank of India that had granted about Rs 40,000 crore in loans to the Videocon Group. It said the amount lent by ICICI Bank was less than 10% of the total amount.