The CBI which is probing the ICICI Bank loan fraud case against former MD and CEO Chanda Kochhar and others is yet to issue a Look Out Circular (LOC) against the influential accused persons in the high profile case.
The LOC is an instrument that is circulated to all the airports and an accused could be detained and checked from fleeing the country.
Mallya fled from the country after the LOC was diluted by the CBI. Other high value accused persons who have fled during the last few years include Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi, both wanted the Rs 13,000 crore PNB credit fraud case and Jatin Mehta of Winsome Diamond, also wanted in a bank credit fraud case.
While the CBI had registered an FIR on January 22 against former ICICI Bank MD Chanda Kochar, her husband Deepak Kochar and Videocon Group MD VN Dhoot in a Rs 1,875 crore bank loan fraud case, the agency is yet to issue the LOC against them, agency sources said.
Normally, LOC is issued in high profile cases within 24 hours but the CBI is yet to take a call in the sensitive case especially at a time. Incidentally, some powerful ministers have voiced their opposition to “investigative adventurism.
Two days after the registration of the case, the CBI had on January 24 conducted searches at the premises of Videocon Group in Mumbai and offices of Nupower Renewables and Supreme Powers in Mumbai and Aurangabad.
Nupower Renewables and Supreme Powers are controlled by Chanda Kochhar’s husband Deepak Kochar.
The FIR alleged that during the tenure of Chanda Kochhar as MD of ICICI, six loans worth Rs 1,875 crore were cleared for Videocon Group and its associated companies out of which she was herself on the sanctioning committees in two cases.
The CBI FIR has also named several top bankers including the present CEO of ICICI Bank Sandeep Baxi
alleging that they were also members of the sanctioning committees whose role needs to be probed.
The role of Chairman of New Development Bank KV Kamath, Goldman Sachs India chairman Sonjoy Chatterjee, Standard Chartered Bank CEO Zarin Daruwala, Tata Capital head Rajiv Sabharwal and Tata Capital senior advisor Homi Khusrokhan need to be investigated, the FIR has recorded.
The names of these bankers figure in the FIR that was registered after a year-long Preliminary Enquiry.
Following reports of the ICICI case FIR naming top banking honchos, a few ministers in the Union Cabinet have advised the CBI against “investigative adventurism”.