The Bombay High Court on Monday allowed the release of former ICICI Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak Kochhar accused in an alleged multi-crore money laundering scam.

The court observed that the arrest of the Kochhar couple was “not in accordance with the law” and hence allowed them to be released from judicial custody on a cash bail of Rs 1 lakh each.

The Central Bureau of Investigation which arrested the couple on December 23, 2022, in the Videocon-ICICI loan scam case, opposed the release.

The case is related to alleged irregularities and corrupt practices in the sanction of a Rs 1,875 crore loan disbursed by ICICI Bank to the Videocon Group between 2009 and 2011.
During its preliminary inquiry, the CBI found that six loans worth Rs 1,875 crore were sanctioned to the Videocon Group and companies associated with it between June 2009 and October 2011, in an alleged violation of the laid-down policies of ICICI Bank.

The agency claimed the loans were declared non-performing assets in 2012, causing a loss of Rs 1,730 crore to the bank. (ANI)