Videocon loan case: Chanda Kochhar skips ED questioning

Kochhar, who was summoned by the ED to appear before it on June 10, informed the agency that she would not be able to join the probe due to poor health.

New Delhi: Former ICICI Bank CEO and managing director Chanda Kochhar on Monday skipped questioning by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a Rs 1,875-crore Videocon loan case citing poor health.

Kochhar, who was summoned by the ED to appear before it on June 10, informed the agency that she would not be able to join the probe due to poor health, a senior ED official told IANS requesting anonymity.

Last month, Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak Kochhar were questioned five times by the financial probe agency in the national capital.

The case relates to the alleged irregularities and corrupt practices in the sanction of Rs 1,875-crore loan disbursed by ICICI Bank to the Videocon Group between 2009 and 2011.

The ED alleges that Kochhar, while heading ICICI Bank, illegally routed crores of rupees to NuPower Renewables Ltd, a company run by her husband.

In March, the ED searched the residence and office premises of Kochhars and also questioned them along with Videocon chairman Venugopal Dhoot.

Dhoot allegedly invested in NuPower Renewables Ltd through his firm Supreme Energy as quid pro quo for the loans cleared by ICICI Bank.

A large portion of the total Rs 40,000 crore loans to Videocon Group remained unpaid at the end of 2017, and the bank proceeded to declare Rs 2,810 crore of these loans as a non-performing asset (NPA).