The CBI on Thursday raided four locations here in connection with a Rs 3,250 crore loan involving the Videocon Group and ICICI Bank, sources said here.
The raids were conducted shortly after the Central Bureau of Investigation registered an FIR against Deepak Kochhar, husband of former ICICI Bank MD and CEO Chanda Kochhar, over the 2012 case.
The FIR comes in the wake of a preliminary enquiry (PE) lodged on March 31, 2018, against Deepak Kochhar, Videocon group officials and others to determine whether any wrongdoing was involved in the sanctioning of the loan by the ICICI Bank as part of a consortium, a senior CBI official said.
The raids were carried out at the offices of Videocon, NuPower Renewables Pvt. Ltd. owned by Deepak Kochhar, and Supreme Energy Pvt. Ltd.
The CBI official said that a PE is conducted to ascertain if there is sufficient evidence of wrongdoing for a case to be taken up for detailed investigation. If the evidence suggests that a cognizable offence has been committed, then this is converted into a regular full-fledged FIR.
The Bureau initiated the PE after news reports raised questions about Videocon Chairman Venugopal Dhoot allegedly providing crores to a firm promoted by Deepak Kochhar and a few relatives six months after Dhoot's group received the Rs 3,250 crore loan.
The said amount was part of a Rs 40,000 crore loan which Videocon got from a consortium of 20 banks led by the State Bank of India.
Following the huge controversy over the alleged "conflict of interests" and "non-disclosure" in the loans sanctioned by ICICI, Chanda Kochhar, 56, quit her post seeking premature retirement on October 4, 2018.
Jiten accuses RO of West Parliamentary seat for being ‘biased’ in election process; writes ECI
The Leader of Opposition and also the CPI(M) state secretary Jitendra Chaudhury on Thursday accused the Returning Officer of the West Parliamentary constituency of the Lok Sabha Dr Vishal Kumar over his ‘discriminatory’ attitude towards the opposition parties.
MHA extends AFSPA in parts of Arunachal and Nagaland for 6 more months
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has extended the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) in certain districts of Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh for another six months with effect from April 1, officials said on Thursday.
Arunachal was, is, and will remain an integral part of India: MEA
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday that China's repetitive claims on Arunachal Pradesh will not change India's position, and the northeastern state will remain an integral and inalienable part of India.
‘To browbeat and bully others is vintage Congress culture', says PM Modi on lawyers’ letter to CJI
Reacting to an open letter to the Chief Justice of India, D.Y. Chandrachud, which was signed by over 600 advocates on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that to "browbeat and bully others is the vintage culture of the Congress".
'Unacceptable, unwarranted': India again slams US' remarks on Arvind Kejriwal
Calling the US State Department's remarks on the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal "unwarranted", India on Thursday said that any such external imputation on the electoral and legal process is completely unacceptable.
Excise policy case: Delhi court extends CM Kejriwal's ED custody till April 1
CM Kejriwal, whose alleged role in the excise policy scam is being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), was produced before Special Judge Kaweri Baweja of the Rouse Avenue Court on the expiry of his six-day ED remand on Thursday.
CM not above law, says ED as Kejriwal questions rationale behind his arrest
"The case has been going on for two years. The case was filed on August 17. No court has found me guilty. There are no charges against me nor has any case been filed against me. But I have been arrested," he said.
Ukrainian FM arrives in India to build on talks between PM Modi, Volodymyr Zelenskyy
In a first high-level visit by a Ukrainian leader since the start of hostilities with Russia in 2022, Kuleba began his two-day official visit at the invitation of External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.