Avista founder denies business arrangements with ICICI Bank
MUMBAI: Less than a week after ICICI Bank Ltd mounted a strong defence of Chanda Kochhar against allegations of financial impropriety, its under-pressure chief executive officer found herself in the eye of the storm again with senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy calling for a probe into the dealings of financial services firm Avista Advisory Group with ICICI Bank.
In a post on Twitter, the BJP member of Parliament raised questions about Avista’s business links with ICICI Bank. An email seeking comment from ICICI Bank remained unanswered until press time.
Avista was founded by Rajiv Kochhar, brother-in-law of Chanda Kochhar and brother of her husband Deepak Kochhar.
In an interview on Monday, Rajiv Kochhar said that he or his firm does not have any business arrangements with the Chanda Kochhar-run bank.
“The only rule that we follow is that not to have any syndication with Indian banks at all. This is some guy who is just trying to create something. There is nothing in it. There is zero record or link between us. We are a professionally managed firm having our offices in Indonesia, Dubai and we have dealings all over the world. India is only one part of the story,” Rajiv Kochhar said.
Kochhar was reacting to reports on social media that have alleged potential conflict of interest in transactions involving his firm with ICICI Bank in several syndicated loan transactions. “Almost all our clients are foreign and these reports linking Avista with ICICI Bank are completely baseless and malicious,” he said.
Kochhar maintained that while Avista was involved in a few transactions with Videocon Industries where it was retained as an adviser, the transactions were only related to the foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBS) of the company and had no bearing on Videocon’s existing or future loans from any Indian lender, including ICICI Bank.
“Avista is an 18-year-old company with partners who are based out of India and most of our business activity involves foreign investors,” he said.