Credibility Crisis

As her troubles mount up, Chanda Kochhar may be preparing for a legal battle

- Nachiket Kelkar

THE REPUBLIC DAY of 2011 was one of the finest days in Chanda Kochhar's life. The banker was awarded the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian honour in the country. This year, however, the day was nothing short of a nightmare. On January 24, two days before the Republic Day, the CBI booked her on charges of criminal conspiracy, cheating and abuse of official position. Six days later, the Srikrishna committee, which was tasked with investigating the allegations against her, said Kochhar, who was managing director and CEO of ICICI Bank till October 4, 2018, violated the bank's code of conduct.

At the centre of Kochhar's downfall is an allegation of quid pro quo and conflict of interest that involves her husband, Deepak, and Videocon Group’s promoter Venugopal Dhoot. The matter first came to light in 2016, when Arvind Gupta, an investor, wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the finance ministry and Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan, exposing the dealings between the bank and Videocon Group. Gupta alleged that Dhoot invested in Deepak's firm NuPower Renewables in 2008. And, in 2012, Dhoot transferred the ownership of the company to a trust owned by Deepak, a few months after ICICI Bank sanctioned loans to Videocon Group.

The bank initially dismissed Gupta’s allegations and strongly backed Kochhar. However, as more allegations of quid pro quo deals were levelled in June 2018, a committee under retired Supreme Court judge B.N. Srikrishna was appointed to probe them and Kochhar was sent on leave. She quit on October 4.