ICICI Bank gives sanction to prosecute Ex-CEO Chanda Kochhar

ICICI Bank has given sanction to prosecute its former chief executive Chanda Kochhar in a corruption case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigationthe counsel for the probe agency informed a court here on Wednesday.

Kochhar, who is accused of irregularities in the sanctioning of loans to the Videocon Group when she was at the helm of the bank, has been booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act, along with charges of cheating and criminal conspiracy under the Indian Penal Code.

Under the anti-corruption law, the approval of a competent authority – ICICI Bank in this case – is needed to conduct investigation and prosecute the accused. The bank had earlier given sanction to conduct the probe.

According to people in the know, the bank has repeated its stand of “no wrongful loss caused to the bank” in its latest communication to the CBI. It had stated the same while giving sanction to conduct the probe.

The special CBI court handling the case is verifying the chargesheet and other documents and after that will decide on taking cognisance of the chargesheet, the people said. Cognisance by the court is a must to start a trial.

The ICICI Bank board had sanctioned the prosecution on April 22 and the CBI received the communication on May 15, the people told ET.

“While the BoD (board of directors) has granted sanction, the communication still maintains that there has been no loss caused to the bank and that Kochhar could be tried for corruption charges,” said an official privy to the development.

In July 2021, while granting sanction to conduct the inquiry, the bank had said “the loans under probe were extinguished and no wrongful loss has been caused to the bank”, Kochhar’s lawyer Amit Desai said, quoting the bank’s communication to the CBI during the course of the remand pleas against her. “…due process was followed while granting the loans” but the sanction was given “considering the allegations of bribery and corruption”, Desai had said.

According to the CBI’s case, a wrongful loss of more than ₹1,033 crore had been caused to the bank when Kochhar was at its helm.

In April, the CBI had filed its first chargesheet against Kochhar, who was also the bank’s former managing director, her businessman husband Deepak, and Videocon group founder VN Dhoot. They have denied any wrongdoing.

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