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Adventurism and

megalomania haze CBI

probe in ICICI Bank case

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s recent tweet questioning the probe agency’s professionalism hint
that all is not well with the investigations into the ICICI Bank loan case involving its CEO and
MD Chanda Kochhar and her husband, writes BHARAT HITESHI

hen Union Minister MD, Chanda Kochhar and her husband October 2018 as pressure mounted on
Arun Jaitley last week Deepak Kochhar are involved. The her to leave and allow independent
tweeted that “ one of federal investigation agency was look- investigations.
the reasons why our ing into a possible quid pro quo where Jaitley’s advice to the investigating
W conviction rates are Kochhar may have favoured Vide- agency to avoid “adventurism” and con-
poor is that adventurism and mega- ocon, which had an investment in a centrate only on the bull’s eye, meant a
lomania overtakes our investigators firm promoted by her husband Deepak lot. Keeping in view that he is conva-
and professionalism takes a back seat,” Kochhar. She initially denied there was lescing because of illness, it was clear
it was clear that all was not well with any conflict of interest, and the bank’s that it was a very serious matter.
the investigations by the CBI into the board backed her at first, but Chanda Tehelka had done a couple of stories
ICICI Bank loan case where its CEO and Kochhar had to quit the ICICI Bank in when the news broke out that Chanda

TEHELKA / 15 FEBRUARY 2019 52 WWW.TEHELKA.COM

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