In the last week of March, CBI filed its chargesheet in the ICICI-Videocon loan fraud case. In its 10,000 pages chargesheet, CBI has named Chanda Kochhar, Deepak Kocchar, Venugopal Dhoot & his nephew Saurabh Dhoot, and Videocon's CA Dattatraya Kadam as accused.

Share Market Live

NSE

"CBI has attached the sanction letter from the competent authority (ICICI bank) under Prevention of Corruption Act (PC), section 17 A. Under this section, the investigating agency needs a sanction letter from the competent authority to initiate an investigation or inquiry against a public servant. CBI got this letter from ICICI bank in July 2021," sources told CNBC TV-18.

"But, for the court to take cognizance of the chargesheet, CBI will require a sanction from the competent authority (ICICI bank) under section 19 of PC Act which mandates a sanction to prosecute a public servant. CBI doesn't have this sanction letter. CBI has mentioned in the chargesheet that it has sought the required sanction letter from ICICI bank, and the request is pending," they added.

Sources further said to CNBC TV-18 that CBI is confident that it will secure the required sanction letter in a month, before the court will complete scrutinising the charge sheet and take cognizance of it.

Also Read:Who is Venugopal Dhoot the industrialist arrested by CBI in ICICI bank loan fraud case?

CBI in its chargesheet has mentioned that Chanda didn't apprise the bank of the relationship she and her husband had with Venugopal Dhoot. The central agency mentioned that she should have abstained from sitting on the loan approval committee, which she didn't. CBI says that there was quid pro quo to the loans sanctioned by the ICICI bank.

The agency also added in the chargesheet that Dhoot, Chanda and Deepak Kocchar conspired to sanction and acquire these loans. A transfer of Rs 64 crore to Deepak Kochhar's firm by Videocon within 24 hours of Dhoot securing a Rs 300 crore loan is proof of this conspiracy.

As per CBI, the accused caused a loss of Rs 1,033 crore to the bank. A loan of Rs 1,750 crore was sanctioned and Dhoot used that amount to clear the previous loans.

CBI arrested Chanda Kocchar, former MD-CEO of ICICI bank and her husband Deepak Kocchar on 23rd December 2022. Three days later, Venugopal Dhoot of Videocon group was also arrested by the agency in the ICICI-Videocon loan fraud case.

(Edited by : Sangam Singh)

First Published:Apr 11, 2023 7:23 PM IST