I-T department quizzes Venugopal Dhoot in ICICI loan case

IANS 16 May 2018

The Income Tax (I-T) Department in Mumbai has quizzed Videocon Group Chairman-cum-Managing Director Venugopal Dhoot in connection with its ongoing investigations into the ICICI Bank-Videocon loan case, official sources said here.

Dhoot was responding to summons issued by the I-T Department recently and was questioned by officials at its south Mumbai office for around four hours on Tuesday.

The probe pertains to suspected tax evasion in the Rs 3,250-crore loan sanctioned by ICICI Bank in 2012 to the Videocon Group.

However, when contacted by IANS, a top I-T official declined to reveal details on grounds that "further investigations in the matter are still underway."

Earlier, the I-T had also questioned Deepak Kochhar, chief of NuPower Renewables Pvt. Ltd, in the same case.

The I-T is examining the links between the Videocon Group and NuPower Renewables Pvt. Ltd. promoted by Kochhar, who is the husband of ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar.

More than a month after conflict-of-interest allegations emerged against her, Chanda Kochhar had on May 7 said that the private lender works under and abides by all regulatory norms and that it has been fully cooperating with regulatory and investigative agencies.

Asked about the possibility of a third-party audit on the Videocon issue, Kochhar said: "As the Board had earlier said that we have been extending full cooperation to the regulatory and investigative agencies, and that we will continue to cooperate with them."

Earlier ICICI Bank Chairman M.K. Sharma said the bank's exposure to the Videocon Group (Videocon Industries and 12 of its subsidiaries or associates as co-obligors) for a debt consolidation programme and for the group's oil and gas capital expenditure programme aggregating approximately Rs 40,000 crore was less than 10 per cent.

He had clarified that none of "the investors of NuPower Renewables are borrowers of ICICI Bank".

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Comments

User

Ashok Senniappan

7 years ago

I really fail to understand the meaning of Questioning.There are only 4-5 questions to be asked with few supplementary
1.Did you infuse a capital of 66 crores initially-Yes or No
If Yes the sources of mobilisation of 66 crores.
2. when was the amount infused.? Was it after release of 660 crores by ICICI or after
release of the loan?
3.When was 325 crores infused ? Was it after release of 3250crores by ICICI or after
release of 3250 crores
4. What is the justification in selling your stake for mere 9 lakhs.?
5.What have you done with the money give the names and the money spent in Kind like crop loan has two components Cash and kind.Cash to pay to the labourers and kind by way of supply of seeds,fertilizers pesticides.
This requires hardly 30 minutes and I fail to understand as a lay man what different questuions that are required to be elicited.