ICICI-Videocon loan scam: FinMin unaware of BBB member's role

New Delhi: The Finance Ministry on Friday claimed it was unaware of the involvement of Banks Board Bureau (BBB) member P Pradeep Kumar in the ongoing ICICI-Videocon loan case.

The ministry's clarification comes after a leading daily questioned Kumar's appointment as he is a board member of Singapore-based Avista Advisory, which is under the Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) scanner in the aforementioned case.

A senior finance ministry official told ANI that the Ministry would look into the matter.

On Thursday, Department of Financial Services (DFS) Secretary Rajeev Kumar announced the formation of a four-member committee to look into recruiting of senior management for public sector banks (PSBs).

While former bureaucrat Bhanu Pratap Sharma was appointed as Chairman, Kumar, who is also the former State Bank of India (SBI) managing director, a former head of India investment banking at Credit Suisse, Vedika Bhandarkar and CRISIL founder Pradip Shah were named new members of the Bureau.

Kumar was a member of the three-member Board of Avista Advisory, founded by ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar's brother-in-law, Rajeev Kochhar. However, a media report stated that Kumar resigned from his position post the controversy surrounding the company.

For those unversed, the CBI is examining the sanctioning of a loan worth Rs 3, 250 crore by ICICI Bank to Videocon Group in 2012 on quid pro quo basis.