ICICI-Videocon scam: CBI quizzes two aides

New Delhi: The CBI on Thursday quizzed Umanath Vaikunt Nayak, a director in the NuPower Renewables which was founded by the husband of ICICI Bank MD and CEO Chanda Kochhar, and Mahesh Chandra Punglia, considered a close aide of Videocon founder Venugopal Dhoot, in connection with the bank's Rs 3,250-crore loan to the Videocon group at the agency headquarters here. The agency had been questioning the then senior executives of the NuPower Renewables and Videocon in Mumbai but it is the first time they were called here for their questioning. The deal recently made news after reports questioned the loan and linked it to a possible quid pro quo that Dhoot allegedly entered in to with the NuPower Renewables.  

The CBI has registered a Preliminary Enquiry (PE) against Mr Dhoot and Chanda Kochhar's husband Deepak Kocchar and unidentified others, they said.

A PE is the first step by the CBI to gather information about the allegations. If the agency is convinced there exists prima facie material in the matter, it may register a regular case against the accused. The ICICI Bank board came out in support of Chanda Kochhar, saying it had full faith and confidence in her and described certain reports against her regarding credit disbursement to the Videocon Group as "malicious and unfounded rumours". Meanwhile, in a separate case, two deputy general manager-level officers of State Bank of India posted in Frankfurt in Germany and Mauritius were questioned by the CBI in connection with the $ 2 billion scam in PNB allegedly involving billionaire jewellers Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi. Sources said the agency is focusing on the execution of Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) fraudulently issued by PNB's Brady House branch.