In the latest development in the Videocon loan case, a panel headed by Justice BN Srikrishna on January 30 found that former ICICI Bank MD and CEO Chanda Kochhar violated the bank’s code of conduct.
In response to the development, the bank's board said it will treat her separation as 'termination for cause'. Kochhar responded saying she is "disappointed, hurt and shocked" by ICICI Bank's decision to treat her resignation as a "termination for cause".
Here's a timeline:
October 2016: The issue of alleged irregularities in loans comes into the light, after a shareholder whistleblower Arvind Gupta, an investor in both ICICI Bank and Videocon Group, raised concerns through a blog.
Gupta alleges that Chanda Kochhar influenced an Rs 3,250-crore loan to the Venugopal Dhoot-led Videocon group in 2012 in return for a deal in NuPower Renewables and Supreme Energy, a clean-energy firm run by her husband Deepak Kochhar.
Gupta writes to the Prime Minister, the RBI Governor and several other authorities demanding a probe. His complaint, however, gathers no attention.
March 2018: The case again comes in spotlight when another unnamed whistleblower complains against the bank and its top management, including Kochhar, alleging a deliberate delay in recognising impairment in 31 loan accounts between 2008 and 2016 to save on provisioning costs.
These allegations lead to probes by multiple agencies, including the CBI, ED and SFIO, and also questioning of Kochhar family members.
March 28, 2018: The bank states that it has reviewed internal processes for credit approval and 'found them to be robust'. The statement points out that the decision to lend to Videocon Group was taken at the consortium level. Even though Kochhar was part of the lending committee that approved the loan, she did not have any personal stake in it.
The bank's board also expresses full faith in Kochhar, denying any wrongdoing on her part and ruling out any 'conflict of interest'.
March 31, 2018: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) files an initial inquiry. The investigative agency later also questions Deepak Kochhar and his brother Rajiv Kochhar.
April 3, 2018: Coming to the defence of its CEO Chanda Kochhar, then ICICI Bank Chairman M K Sharma says the board has full confidence in her and rules out any quid pro quo as alleged with regard to the loan given to Videocon group.
"The board has come to the conclusion that there is no question of any quid pro quo/nepotism/conflict of interest as is being alleged in various rumours," he tells reporters.
April 4, 2018: The Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) seeks the Ministry of Corporate Affairs' nod to probe ICICI Bank's Rs 3,250 crore loan to the Videocon group in 2012.
May 23, 2018: The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) serves a notice to ICICI Bank's CEO and MD Chanda Kochhar on dealings of the lender with Videocon Group and NuPower Renewables, an entity promoted by her spouse Deepak Kochhar.
The market regulator asks Kochhar and the bank to submit their responses till June 7 in relation to a 12-page show cause notice it served to ICICI Bank and Kochhar on May 23.
May 30, 2018: The ICICI Bank board starts an independent probe.
June 2018: The bank appoints retired Supreme Court judge Justice BN Srikrishna to head the independent panel initiated by ICICI Bank’s board.
June 8, 2018: ICICI Bank and Chanda Kochhar seek more time to respond to the show cause notice served by markets regulator SEBI.
July 5, 2018: SEBI asks Kochhar to reply to the show cause notice over alleged violation 0f listing disclosure norms by July 10. Kochhar and the bank had missed the June 7 deadline and sought more time to respond to the notice due to lack of documentary proof that support the allegations.
October 4, 2018: The ICICI Bank board accepts Chanda Kochhar's request to seek early retirement. The bank says that the enquiry instituted by the board will remain unaffected and certain benefits will be subject to the outcome of the enquiry.
January 24, 2019: The CBI registers an FIR against Chanda Kochhar, her husband Deepak Kochhar and Videocon group MD Venugopal Dhoot over alleged irregularities in loans sanctioned by the bank to the group in 2012.
January 30, 2019: A panel headed by Justice BN Srikrishna finds that Kochhar violated the bank's code of conduct in the Videocon loan case. Following the report, the bank's board says it will treat her separation as 'termination for cause' under their internal policies.
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