ICICI-Videocon loan case: CBI questions Rajiv Kochhar for the second day

Sources say he was not cooperating fully with the central agency

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday continued quizzing Rajiv Kochhar, founder of Avista Advisory and brother-in-law of ICICI Bank Managing Director Chanda Kochhar in the Rs 32.50-billion Videocon loan controversy.

On Thursday, Rajiv Kochhar was detained at Mumbai airport before he could board a flight for Singapore. He was interrogated for about seven hours. 

According to the CBI sources, he was not fully cooperating in the probe and hence he was being called again with some relevant documents. A Delhi team of CBI is questioning him in Mumbai since 11 am. 

During the interrogation on Thursday, he said that he was not aware of the loan extended to Videocon. He reiterated that Avista is not related to his brother Deepak Kochhar, said CBI source cited above. 

However, he said that he was engaged in a restructuring of loans but ICICI Bank was not connected to his business, said a CBI sleuth. 

Kochhar claimed that he was flying Singapore for business related work. CBI is learnt to have issued lookout notice against the Rajiv Kochhar last week. 

CBI is examining Rajiv Kochhar who is allegedly helped ICICI Bank in restructuring foreign currency convertible bond (FCCB) deals for at least seven companies including Videocon.

Sources said that CBI would soon summon few more senior officials of ICICI banks and Videocon. 

The investigation is part of the preliminary enquiry that the CBI had registered a month ago. Sources said the enquiry was launched to ascertain the allegation that Dhoot gave money to a firm promoted by Deepak Kochhar and his two relatives six months after the Videocon group received a Rs 32.50 billion loan from ICICI Bank in 2012.  

The Rs 32.50-billion loan was part of the Rs 400-billion one that the Videocon group got from a consortium of 20 banks led by State Bank of India.