The Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) has launched a preliminary investigation into the husband of ICICI Bank's chief executive, as well as officials at the lender and at Videocon Group, two sources said on Saturday, to assess whether there was any wrongdoing in lending practices.

Reports in many Indian media outlets in the past week have alleged that Videocon Group chairman Venugopal Dhoot invested 640 million rupees ($9.83 million) in Nu Power Renewables, a firm owned by Deepak Kochhar, the husband of ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar, after Videocon secured a loan from a consortium of banks, including ICICI.

ICICI, India's third-largest lender, has

backed its CEO and said its board had “come to the conclusion that there

is no question of any quid pro quo/nepotism/conflict of interest as is being alleged in various rumours”.