CBI files charge sheet against Kochhar couple and Dhoot in ICICI Bank loan fraud

Central Bureau Investigation (CBI) has filed a charge sheet against former MD and CEO of ICICI Bank Chanda Kochhar, her husband Deepak Kochhar and Videocon Group founder Venugopal Dhoot in a Rs 3,250 crore loan fraud case, officials said.

The agency has filed the charge sheet under sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 409 (criminal breach of trust) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, among others, they said.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has named nine entities, including companies and individuals, according to the officials.

CBI has moved to file its final report before a special court in Mumbai without the mandatory requirement of sanction to prosecute Chanda Kochhar from ICICI Bank, the officials said.  

Generally, the special court waits for the sanction before proceeding with taking cognizance of the charge sheet and subsequently initiating the trial, if warranted. The special CBI court is yet to take cognizance of the charge sheet, the officials said.

Opposing the CBI’s plea for remand, senior advocate Amit Desai, appearing for the Kochhars, had brought to the court’s notice a letter ICICI Bank wrote to the CBI in July 2021 stating that it incurred no wrongful loss in any of the transactions under question.