Mumbai, June 18: ICICI Bank group is thinking of a reshuffle of its top management, and according to an Economic Times report, life insurance venture’s CEO Sandeep Bakhshi may become the interim chief at ICICI Bank. Kochhar is currently on her annual leave.

According to a Business Standard report, ICICI Bank Chairman M K Sharma has written an email to board members asking their opinion on whether  Kochhar should be asked to go on indefinite leave until the internal enquiry is completed. The report quotes a person close to the development saying, "In an email sent to board members last week, Sharma asked board members whether they agreed that Kochhar should go on indefinite leave until the ICICI Bank-constituted enquiry is completed to have a fair outcome."

ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar is under heavy scrutiny of several Indian and foreign agencies for alleged irregularities in her dealing with certain borrowers. She can face a maximum penalty of Rs 25 crore from Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) if found guilty.  According to a Mint report, there is no provision for asking the CEO to step down, and the quantum of punishment will be at the discretion of Sebi's adjudicating officer.

Earlier, the bank board had come out in support of Chanda Kocchar and had also denied reports regarding its CEO being asked to go on indefinite leave by the bank. The cases under scanner include ICICI Bank's Rs 32.5 billion loan to Videocon Group in 2012 and the involvement of Kochhar family members in the restructuring of the loan.

Reportedly, a fresh probe was ordered by the board of ICICI Bank after a new whistleblower made allegations that Kochhar violated the bank’s code of conduct, rules on conflict of interest and was part of quid pro quo dealings with certain bank borrowers.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 18, 2018 01:20 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).