Board doesn't discuss it on Monday, to skip it today; Chanda Kochhar cites Board stand in defence
The Videocon loan controversy will not figure in the ICICI Bank Board meeting today. The bank Board that met on Monday to finalise its annual results also did not discuss the Videocon loan controversy surrounding its managing director and chief executive officer Chanda Kochhar.
While taking a barrage of questions on the allegations in her first interaction with the press after the controversy broke out, Kochhar did not put forward any strong defence except to say that the Board had made its stand clear and that she would not like to add anything more to it.
She said the meeting on Tuesday will be a routine one to discuss the budget for the year. On being asked on her name being dragged into the controversy and her personal clarification on the issue, Kochhar reiterated that the Board has made its stand clear and that she has nothing more to add to the issue.
"The Board meeting tomorrow is the regular meeting for finalising our budget for the next financial year," Kochhar said.
Arvind Gupta, a shareholder of both the bank and Videocon Industries, had alleged a quid pro quo between Videocon Group and ICICI Bank's CEO as well as her family members with respect to extending a loan worth Rs 3,250 crore to Videocon. He had alleged that the Videocon group invested into NuPower Renewables, a firm owned by Deepak Kochhar, husband of Chanda Kochhar.
In response to this, the bank's Board headed by M K Sharma had put out a statement in March saying that the Board has come to the conclusion that there is no question of any quid pro quo, nepotism or conflict of interest as was being alleged in various rumours.
In 2012, ICICI Bank extended a Rs 3,250 crore loan to a company that is part of Venugopal Dhoot's Videocon group. Chanda Kochhar was on the credit committee that sanctioned this loan. It is alleged that the promoter of Videocon Industries Venugopal Dhoot had a joint venture with Deepak Kochhar at the time of the loan sanction. The Videocon group has since defaulted on the loan.
An inquiry was ordered after the whistleblower Arvind Gupta alleged quid pro quo in the Videocon loan.
There are also allegations that NuPower got investments of Rs 325 crore from Mauritius-based Firstland Holdings, a company owned by Nishant Kanodia, son-in-law of Essar Group co-founder Ravi Ruia. However, Chanda Kochhar refused to offer any clarifications, preferring only to repeat that the Board had already made its stand clear.
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