The buzz did the rounds for about two years: ICICI Bank’s then MD & CEO Chanda Kochhar was being accused of conflict of interest and quid-pro-quo in a bank loan to the Videocon group through a whistle-blower complaint.
In February, the Central Bureau of Investigation launched a preliminary enquiry into the allegations. Kochhar denied the allegations, following which the bank board expressed full support for its CEO and accepted her explanation that no ethical lines had been crossed in the loan ICICI Bank extended to Videocon, the promoter of which had business dealings with Kochhar’s husband. Over the next few months,