CBI files new case against Videocon’s Venugopal Dhoot and unknown bank officials

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday filed a new case against Videocon group chairman and managing director Venugopal Dhoot and unknown officials of a consortium of banks that includes the State Bank of India, ICICI Bank and IDBI Bank for alleged irregularities in loans provided to a group company for its oil and gas assets in Mozambique, Indonesia and Brazil, officials said.

The CBI is already investigating Dhoot along with former CEO and MD of ICICI Bank – Chanda Kochhar for the past two years for an alleged loan fraud of ₹1,875 crore. Kochhar hasn’t been named in the fresh case but “unknown” officials of three consortium banks are under the scanner.

The agency’s FIR on Tuesday named Venugopal Dhoot, unknown officials of consortium banks led by SBI and other unknown persons under prevention of corruption Act, cheating and criminal conspiracy.

The agency had conducted a preliminary enquiry (PE) in the matter first against unknown officials of ministry of petroleum and natural gas, ONGC Videsh, Oil India Limited, Bharat Petro Resources Ltd (a subsidiary of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd) and consortium of banks including SBI, IDBI and ICICI Bank, led by SBI Cap, on suspicion that they colluded with directors of Videocon Mozambique Rovuma 1 Ltd (VMRL), a subsidiary of Videocon Hydrocarbons Holding Ltd (VHHL), a company registered in Cayman Islands, with an intent to cause undue pecuniary gain to Videocon Industries Ltd (VIL).

Venugopal Dhoot told HT, “I don’t know about the case. I will check and come back to you.” SBI and ICICI didn’t respond till filing of the report.

The VHHL had acquired 10% participating interest in oil and gas block in Rovuma Area 1 Block Mozambique from a US based petroleum company Anadarko in 2008 and it had oil and gas assets in Indonesia and Brazil.

In April 2012, the consortium of banks led by State Bank of India sanctioned Standby Letter of Credit (SBLC) facility of $2773.60 million to Videocon Hydrocarbons Holding Ltd (VHHL) for appraisal and development of overseas oil and gas asset in Mozambique, Brazil and Indonesia and other funding requirement in relation to the said oil and gas asset and for refinancing the existing facilities, according to CBI FIR.

The SBLC facility of $1103 million was refinanced which includes an outstanding amount of $400 million of Standard Chartered Bank (SCB), London. The first charge on VIL’s oil and gas asset was part of SCB’s security.

The VIL in February 2013 informed the consortium of banks that loan of SCB had increased from $400 million to $530 million asking the banks to pay off the loan and take over the charge of oil and gas assets after paying the same.

“The SBI led consortium, without any verification/inquiry, approved and paid the loan of $530 million to SCB, London. After paying the outstanding to SCB, the charge on the VIL’s oil and gas assets was required to be taken over by Indian consortium led by SBI. Further, the loan account of SCB was required to be closed by VHHL. However, the SBI consortium in connivance with VIL didn’t create the charge on the oil and gas assets with dishonest intention to facilitate VHHL, which continued to avail the facility from SCB London backed by Mozambique oil and gas asset,” the CBI FIR, reviewed by HT, said.

“Videocon didn’t inform about the continued availing of the facility from the SCB to its lenders neither the lenders asked for submitting the closure/No Objection Certificate (NOC) to VIL. The SBI led consortium never took charge of Mozambique asset and the charge of Indonesia and Brazil assets was taken by it in November 2013 from SCB,” the FIR adds.

CBI enquiry further revealed that the ONGC Videsh Limited and Oil India Limited, which had acquired the Mozambique asset for $2519 million in January 2014, needed the NOC from consortium banks of VIL before making payments for the asset. The VIL asked the consortium to pay $ 650 million to SCB from sale proceeds but the banks paid $ 705 million and they didn’t even raise objection that outstanding of SCB had already been cleared.