CBI custody of Chanda, Deepak Kochhar, Venugopal Dhoot extended till 29 Dec in loan fraud case

New Delhi, Dec 28: A Special court extended Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) custody of ex-ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar, her husband Deepak Kochhar and Videocon group founder Venugopal Dhoot till December 29 in the loan fraud case.

Chanda and Deepak Kochhar were arrested by the CBI on Friday night after a brief questioning session. Venugopal Dhoot,71, was arrested in the loan fraud case on Monday morning. All three were produced before special court judge AS Sayyad. The Central Bureau of Investigation, represented by special public prosecutor A Limosin, sought one more-day custody to confront all the accused.

On Tuesday, the court also permitted the trio to have home-cooked food and medicines. The Kochhars and Dhoot had sought permission to use a chair, special beds, mattresses, pillows, towels, blankets, and bed sheets citing their medical conditions. The court permitted them to use these items at their own cost.

The court also allowed them to take assistance from their lawyers for one hour in private every day till the interrogations are completed. The court said the CBI shall permit one attendant to accompany Dhoot to help him have insulin as and when required during the custody.

The CBI had named the Kochhars and Venugopal Dhoot, chairman of the Videocon Group, along with Nupower Renewables (NRL) managed by Deepak Kochhar, Supreme Energy Private Ltd (SEPL), Videocon International Electronics Ltd. (VIEL) and Videocon Industries Limited, in its FIR registered in 2019 under Indian Penal Code sections related to criminal conspiracy and the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The CBI has alleged that ICICI Bank had sanctioned credit of Rs 3,250 crore to the companies of the Videocon Group promoted by Dhoot in violation of the Banking Regulation Act, RBI guidelines, and credit policy of the bank.

According to CBI, a sanctioning committee headed by Chanda Kochhar in 2009 approved a term loan of Rs 300 crore to VIEL in contravention of the rules and policies of the bank by abusing her official position as a public servant. The day after the loan was disbursed, Dhoot transferred Rs 64 crore to NRL from VIEL through SEPL.