Court junks lookout notice for Kochhar

MUMBAI: The magistrate court on Tuesday cancelled the Look Out Circular (LOC) issued against Rajiv Kochhar, the brother-inlaw of ICICI Bank managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) Chanda Kochhar.

The court permitted Rajiv to travel abroad on certain conditions. He has been restrained from alienating his properties and also has been asked to give bond of ₹4 lakh. The court has also asked Rajiv to submit his passport and bank account details.

Rajiv is facing a preliminary enquiry (PE), registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), in a case of potential criminality in the sanctioning of a ₹3,250-crore loan to Videocon Group by ICICI Bank in 2012. The PE was initiated after a whistleblower raised concerns over a suspected quid-pro-quo in the loan extended by ICICI to the Videocon Group and Videocon chairman Venugopal Dhoot’s personal investment (and subsequent transfer of ownership) in a company co-founded by him and Deepak Kochhar, Rajiv’s brother.

CBI alleged that Rajiv is promoter of M/s Avista Advisory, which provides financial consultancy for loan syndication/debt restructuring. The agency suspects that using his personal influence (as Chanda Kochhar’s kin), Rajiv arranged credit facilities / debt restructuring for his client from ICICI bank, during the period when Chanda Kochhar was holding decision making positions in the bank.

Pending the enquiry, CBI got an LOC issued against Rajiv to prevent him from leaving the country. In April, he was made to deboard an abroad-bound flight and was questioned over his suspected links in the loan sanction case.

Aggrieved by the restrictions, Rajiv had moved an application before the special CBI magistrate court on June 26 for the LOC’S cancellation to enable him travel abroad for his business. He claimed he has been facing difficulty in running his business.

Last year, an enquiry was initiated against Chanda Kochhar’s husband and CEO of Nupower group, Deepak Kochhar.