Chanda Kochhar, the managing director and chief executive of ICICI Bank, has denied any wrongdoing in her work at India’s biggest private lender – claiming she was unaware of her husband’s business dealings.
Kochhar is facing allegations of conflict of interest and non-adherence to the bank’s code of conduct. She gave her response to the claims in a show-cause notice issued by India’s market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
In her reply Kochhar said she was not aware of the business dealings between her husband, Deepak Kochhar, the promoter of NuPower Renewables, and Videocon group promoter Venugopal Dhoot, Business Standard reports.
Dhoot allegedly invested 640 million rupees in NuPower Renewables after Videocon secured a loan from a consortium of banks, including ICICI Bank in 2012. However, the Videocon account was declared a non-performing asset in 2017.
ICICI Bank had also denied any wrongdoing in the loan transaction, saying it was part of a consortium of lenders that extended the facility to Videocon.
SEBI launched adjudication proceedings against Chanda Kochhar in May after it came to light that her husband had financial dealings with the Videocon group.
It will now call ICICI Bank representatives and Chanda Kochhar for a personal hearing.