The CBI on Thursday said it is questioning ICICI CEO and MD Chanda Kochhar's brother-in-law Rajeev Kochhar in case of Rs 3,250 crore loan to the Videocon Group in 2012.
"We have called Rajeev Kochhar for questioning to seek certain clarifications in the case," a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) official told IANS.
The agency had registered a preliminary enquiry against her husband Deepak Kochhar, Videocon Group officials and others for its probe to determine any wrongdoing or otherwise in the sanction of the loan to the Videocon Group by the ICICI Bank as part of a consortium of banks in 2012.
Chanda Kochhar, facing questions of conflict of interest on the issue, has not been named in the PE, which was registered after news reports raised questions about Videocon Chairman Venugopal Dhoot giving loan of Rs 64 crore to a firm he had jointly promoted with Deepak Kochhar, six months after his group got the Rs 3,250 crore loan.
The said money was part of a loan of Rs 40,000 crore which Videocon received from a consortium of 20 banks led by the State Bank of India.
ICICI Bank, however, backs Chanda Kochhar and has given her a clean chit. In a statement the Board said that there was no quid pro quo, nepotism or conflict of interest in the loans extended and that it has full confidence and reposes full faith in Chanda Kochhar.
Videocon Chairman Venugopal Dhoot too, termed all the allegations baseless and said in an interview that he had invested Rs 2.5 lakh, but pulled out when Videocon discovered oil reserves, which was not aligned with the business of NuPower, and returned his 50% stake to Deepak Kochhar. He claims to have no contact with Deepak or Chanda Kochhar after he returned his stake.