She was the first woman to head an Indian bank, having fought out one of the

toughest succession battles in corporate India. For over a decade she

consistently ranked among the country's most powerful women and was pretty
much India Inc's poster woman. Today, the CBI issued a look out circular
against her in a loan fraud case that has hogged the headlines for over six
months.
We're talking about Chanda Kochhar, the former managing director and CEO
of ICICI Bank. Here's a timeline of her fall from grace:

March 2016: Shareholder activist Arvind Gupta, who is also the founder and
trustee of Indian Investors Protection Council, writes to Prime Minister
Narendra Modi on March 15, 2016, red-flagging "the illicit banking and
commercial relationship between Videocon Group of Venugopal Dhoot and
ICICI Bank's MD & CEO Chanda Kochhar's family". When Gupta did not hear
back from the authorities, he eventually reproduced the letter on his blog in
October 2016.

July 2016: The RBI conducts a detailed probe into the matter after the Prime
Minister's Office referred the allegations of Kochhar's husband, Deepak,
reaping windfall gains from his association with Dhoot, whose company was a
large debtor to ICICI Bank. But it finds no proof of any reciprocal benefits
being extended by ICICI Bank to the Videocon Group.

March 2018: While the country is still reeling under the Rs 13,000 crore PNB-
Nirav Modi scam, the mainstream media picks up Gupta's blog post, and this
time the matter makes major waves. But before the end of the month, ICICI
Bank's board reviews the bank's internal processes for credit approval and
declares them robust. It also expresses full faith and confidence in Kochhar,
adding that there is no question of any quid pro quo, nepotism or conflict of
interest as is alleged in the "rumors".
But on March 31, the Central Bureau of Investigation kicks-off a preliminary
enquiry against Deepak Kochhar to look into the allegations.
April 2018: Facing allegations of improper conduct Kochhar, who had headed
the country's third-largest lender since May 2009, backs out of the annual
session of FICCI Ladies Organisation, where she was to be felicitated by
President Ram Nath Kovind.
Doubts are fanned further when the CBI picks up Kochhar's brother-in-law
Rajiv Kochhar for questioning in the same month. The allegation here is that
his company, Avista Advisory, got the mandate to restructure foreign
currency-denominated debt deals worth over $1.7 billion of seven companies,
all of which had taken loans from ICICI Bank at the same time.

May 2018: The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) sends a notice
to Kochhar, seeking her response on the alleged non-compliance with
disclosure norms in dealings with the Videocon Group and Nupower
Renewables, a company co-founded by her husband.
In the face of the growing brouhaha, fanned by another anonymous
whistleblower's allegations against Kochhar, ICICI Bank's board institutes an
independent enquiry. However, the scepticism among corporate governance
experts and investors alike following the interim report giving the bank a clean
chit, eventually prompts the board to consider a second, more detailed probe.
June 2018: ICICI Bank appoints former judge of the Supreme Court BN
Srikrishna to head the external probe into the allegations of corporate
misconduct against Kochhar. She soon goes on indefinite leave till the
investigation is complete but at least initially the bank calls it her planned
annual leave. Before long Sandeep Bakhshi takes over the reins of the bank
on an interim basis.
October 2018: In a sudden development Kochhar resigns from her position,
even before the Srikrishna panel submits its report. The 57-year-old's second
term at the bank's helm would have ended in March 2019 had all gone well.
She also exits the Board of Directors of ICICI Bank's subsidiaries.

January 2019: The CBI books Kochhar, her husband and Dhoot for alleged
cheating and corruption in sanctioning loans to the Videocon Group, which
caused a loss of Rs 1,730 crore to the bank. The agency alleged that ICICI
Bank sanctioned six high-value loans to various Videocon companies
between June 2009 and October 2011, starting soon after Kochhar took over
as CEO. In fact, she was reportedly a part of the sanctioning committee which
had approved a loan of Rs 300 crores to Videocon International Electronics
Ltd (VIEL) and Rs 750 crore to Videocon Industries Ltd (VIL).
The former amount was reportedly disbursed into the VIEL account on
September 7, and according to the CBI, the "very next day" Dhoot had
transferred Rs 64 crore from VIL to NuPower Renewables Limited, the
company owned by her husband Deepak Kochhar.
Days later, the Srikrishna panel submits its report, which finds Kochhar guilty
of violating various regulations. The lender then decides to stop all unpaid
retirement benefits and also recover bonuses worth Rs 9.82 crore paid to her
since 2009. "I am utterly disappointed, hurt and shocked by the decision,"
Kochhar says in a statement referring to the bank's decision to treat her
resignation as a "termination for cause" following the probe report.
February 2019: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) registers a criminal case
of money laundering against Kochhar and the others.