ICICI Bank, Kochhar have not filed for any settlement application, says SEBI

Securities market regulator SEBI on Wednesday said that ICICI Bank and its MD and CEO Chanda Kochhar have not filed for any settlement application under the consent mechanism.

"It is hereby clarified that ICICI Bank and Ms. Chanda Kochhar have filed replies to show cause notices issued by SEBI," the regulator said in a statement on Wednesday.

"It is further clarified that, SEBI has not received any settlement application from ICICI Bank or from any other entity related to the matter."

The clarification comes a day after the private lender denied filing any such application.

The company, however, said on Tuesday that it has submitted its response to the show-cause notice issued by SEBI.

"We have submitted our response to the show-cause notice issued by SEBI. We would like to clarify that we have not filed any application for settlement," ICICI Bank had said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, while answering questions on the issue after SEBI's annual board meet, SEBI chief Ajay Tyagi said: "On the ICICI (issue), to my information some reply has come from the bank and the earlier CEO (Kochhar), so, we will examine that..."

On the plea for settlement through consent mechanism, Tyagi claimed ignorance. However, another SEBI official present at the conference confirmed the request.

The stock market regulator provides for an out-of-court settlement procedure to settle cases -- consent mechanism -- which does not warrant admission or denial of the alleged wrongdoing.

SEBI had issued a show-cause notice to ICICI Bank and its MD and CEO Kochhar regarding conflict of interest in lending to Videocon Group, which has had business tie-ups with her husband Deepak Kochhar.

Currently, former Supreme Court judge B.N. Srikrishna (Retd) is heading an independent enquiry into the allegations.

--IANS

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