ICICI Bank denies rumours of asking CEO Chanda Kochhar to go on indefinite leave

In the latest in the Videocon loan saga, ICICI Bank has denied reports of asking CEO Chanda Kochhar to go on an indefinite leave from the company until an independent enquiry announced by the bank’s board to probe alleged cases of impropriety is concluded.

In a statement to the stock exchanges, the bank stated,” The ICICI Bank Board denies having asked Ms. Chanda Kochhar to go on leave. She is on her annual leave which was planned in advance. Further, the Board denies that it has appointed any search committee to find her successor.” 

The bank issued a statement in response to a media report which stated that as per a person in the know of the board’s decision, the decision to ask Kochhar to go on leave has been taken on the advice of a majority of the seven independent directors on the bank’s board.

The enquiry, likely to be headed by a retired judge of the Supreme Court, will begin next week and will be completed in two months, as per the source.

It was just this week that the board had ordered an independent inquiry which includes forensic audit, into new whistleblower allegations that Kochhar violated the bank’s code of conduct in the Videocon loan case.

It is to be remembered that nearly two months before, ICICI Bank had dismissed all the allegations against Chanda Kochhar stating it as a mere rumor that Deepak Kochhar (spouse of Chanda Kochhar) had received investment in his organization from Videocon as quid pro quo for loans from ICICI Bank.  

The turnaround in the stance also comes close on the heels of a notice sent by SEBI which asked the bank to respond to allegations of violations of disclosure requirements under the securities law in the case involving Videocon Group and NuPower Renewables, a firm run by Chanda Kochhar’s husband Deepak Kochhar.

Both the complaint from the whistleblower and the notice from SEBI seem to have spurred the board into action to order the independent probe and put an end to the speculation once and for all. 

The fresh probe will examine all the details since Kochhar’s appointment in May 2009 as per the source and the work of all committees in the bank, the top management, directors, their interactions with each other and customers through emails or phones will be scrutinized.

Update: The original story has been updated after a response from ICICI Bank.

Image Credit: Financial Express