Former ICICI Bank chief, Chanda Kochhar, who was ousted from the role following allegations of loan fraud, is now easing into a new role – that of a podcaster. She launched her YouTube podcast series, ‘Journey Unscripted with Chanda Kochhar’ earlier this month.
Kochhar told Hindustan Times, who first reported on this, that she believes people’s journeys are a “huge source of learning”. She said that understanding how people deal with situations can be a huge source of learning that she wants to take to a larger set of people.
The banker, who is out on bail at present along with her husband, is awaiting the resolution of their case. She told the news daily that she is “open to everything” at the moment and that this podcast can lead to bigger things.
She said she does the research and chooses the guests herself, and aims to do three podcasts a month. Her first guest on the show was Harsh Mariwala, founder and chairman of Marico. Her second guest will be an actor but she refused to disclose the name.
Chanda Kochhar’s podcast has been executed and produced by The Salt Inc, an independent content and design agency, with a focus on technology.
The banker, 63, who was recruited by ICICI Bank in 1984, went on to become its MD and CEO in 2009. Kochhar was one of the most celebrated names in the industry, was also named one of the 100 most powerful women by Forbes in 2010. She was awarded the prestigious Padma Bhushan, as well as several international awards.
However, it all came apart when the Central Bureau of Investigation launched a preliminary inquiry into allegations of loan fraud in 2017. She was accused of misusing her role as the bank’s head to issue loans worth Rs 3,250 crore to Videocon Group of Industries. In 2019, CBI in its FIR stated that Kochhar was part of the sanctioning committee that disbursed Rs 300 crore to Videocon promoter Venugopal Dhoot, and the company finally defaulted on it.
The CBI accused Kochhar of being part of a quid pro quo between Dhoot, her husband Deepak Kochhar, and herself. Videocon reportedly invested Rs 64 crore in Deepak Kochhar’s company NuPower Renewables a day after Rs 300 crore loan was cleared for Videocon.