Marred by ongoing controversy, ICICI Bank has said it would institute an independent probe, headed by a credible person, to look into allegations that its MD and CEO Chanda Kochhar had breached its code of conduct. The statement came in the backdrop of controversy over the lender extending loans to the Videocon Group, which had a business relationship with NuPower Renewables- a company promoted by Kochhar's husband Deepak. The bank, through an update to the exchanges, said that its board has asked its audit committee to “appoint the head of inquiry, determine the terms of reference and the period covered.”
The release also said that the bank's audit committee will also help the head of inquiry with the required independent legal and other professional support. Markets regulator Sebi had sent a notice to the bank and Chanda, on May 24, in the matter. It thinks that certain matters relating to the dealings between the bank's MD, her husband and Videocon were not disclosed to the board. It is alleged that Venugopal Dhoot, chairman of Videocon Group, had invested £6.4 million in NuPower. Before that, Videocon had got a £324 million loan from ICICI in 2012. The loan was part of a larger one that the diversified group got from a consortium of banks, including ICICI Bank.
After the news made headlines, the CBI also launched a preliminary investigation into the whole affair. In its release to the exchanges, ICICI Bank said that there were allegations that its MD had “not adhered to provisions relating to code of conduct... and legal and regulatory provisions relating to conflict of interest... as also alleging quid pro quo in the course of her work in dealing with certain customers/borrowers of bank.” The bank also said that the “scope of inquiry would be comprehensive and include all relevant matters arising out of and in the course of examination of the facts and wherever warranted, use of forensics/e-mail reviews and recording of statements of relevant personnel, etc.”
