A day after the Bombay High Court granted them temporary bail in a loan fraud case, the former CEO and MD of ICICI Bank Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak Kochhar were freed from custody on Tuesday morning, a police spokesman said.
Chanda Kochhar was released from the Byculla women’s prison in Mumbai while her husband was let out of the Arthur Road jail, an official informed.
On December 23, 2022, Kochhars was detained by the CBI in relation to the Videocon-ICICI Bank debt issue.
The couple had petitioned the Bombay High Court to contest their arrest, claiming that it was arbitrary and illegitimate.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was severely criticised by the High Court (HC) for making the arrest in a ‘casual and mechanical’ manner and without using their minds. On Monday, the HC granted them temporary bail.
In the FIR (first information report) associated with the case filed in 2019 under Indian Penal Code sections pertaining to criminal conspiracy and provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, the CBI named the Kochhars, Venugopal Dhoot, the founder of the Videocon group, Nupower Renewables (NRL), Supreme Energy, Videocon International Electronics Ltd, and Videocon Industries Ltd as accused parties.
The government agency claims that from 2009 to 2018, Chanda Kochhar was in charge of ICICI Bank, which is accused of violating regulations by approving credit facilities worth Rs 3,250 crore to these businesses.
Additionally, it was asserted that between 2010 and 2012, Dhoot invested Rs 64 crore through Supreme Energy Pvt Ltd (SEPL) in Nupower Renewables as part of a quid pro quo arrangement and transferred SEPL to Pinnacle Energy Trust, which is run by Deepak Kochhar, via a convoluted process.
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