ICICI Bank has sacked its former managing director and chief executive officer Chanda Kochhar, four months after she resigned, saying that she is seeking early retirement.
The Board said the action was the fallout of an inquiry by a panel headed by Justice B N Srikrishna, which indicted the high-profile executive of violating the bank's code of conduct.
The bank has also revoked all her bonuses from April 2009 to March 2018 and all other existing and future entitlements, including stock options and medical benefits.
The bank's Board was forced to take the action after Srikrishna panel, which was probing into the quid-pro-quo transactions in ICICI Bank, indicted the former CEO saying that she violated the ICICI's code of conduct and internal policies. She now has to return bonuses paid from April 2009 to March 2018 to take such further actions as may be warranted in the matter, ICICI Bank said in a statement.
Chanda Kochhar said in a message, "I am utterly disappointed, hurt and shocked by the decision. I have not been given a copy of the report. I reiterate that none of the credit decisions at the bank are unilateral. I have served ICICI Bank for 34 years with all my dedications and hard work. I have never shied away from taking tough decisions whenever required to be taken in the best interest of the organisation. This decision of the bank has caused me immense hurt and pain."
The action comes exactly 10 months after the ICICI Bank Board had come out strongly in support of its then CEO and MD, saying that it has full faith and confidence in her and described certain reports against her regarding credit disbursement to the Videocon group as "malicious and unfounded rumours". It had also stated then that the bank's Board, led by M K Sharma, had reviewed the bank's internal processes for credit approval and found them robust.
With a spate of allegations from another whistleblower, the bank was forced to set up an independent inquiry committee under Justice Srikrishna in September 2018. A month later, Kochhar, 56, had quit as CEO and managing director of the bank seeking an early retirement. Her term was to come to an end in March 2019. The inquiry report concluded that Kochhar was "in violation of the ICICI Bank code of conduct, its framework for dealing with conflict of interest and fiduciary duties and in terms of applicable Indian laws, rules and regulations". The report also noted her "lack of diligence" with respect to the bank's internal policies, code of conduct and in avoiding conflict of interest. "The bank's processes were rendered ineffective by her approach," said the inquiry report.
Kochhar has been accused of criminal conspiracy and cheating by the CBI for alleged irregularities in a loan of Rs 3,250 crore in 2012 to the Videocon Group, which is a non-performing asset (NPA) with the bank now.
In May 2016, a whistleblower named Arvind Gupta alleged that Kochhar's husband Deepak Kochhar and her family members benefited from the dealings. He had alleged that Venugopal Dhoot, chairman and managing director of Videocon Group, had invested crores of rupees into NuPower Renewables, a company founded by Deepak Kochhar, each time ICICI Bank sanctioned loans to the group.
CBI, in its FIR filed earlier this month, said that she abused her official position and "got illegal gratification and undue benefit through her husband from Dhoot for sanctioning Rs 300 crore to Videocon."
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "Chanda Kochhar")
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}