MUMBAI,
The anti-fraud agency summoned chief Chanda Kochhar of ICICI Bank and Axis Bank’s Shikha Sharma in the multi-crore PNB scam involving jeweller Nirav Modi and his partner and uncle Mehul Choksi.
“Kochhar and Sharma will appear before the Serious Fraud Investigation Office in Mumbai on Tuesday afternoon,” sources in the agency said.
The sources also said that “the two top bank officials were summoned for giving loan facility to Gitanjali Group and would be investigated.”
ICICI Bank is believed to have extended a loan of Rs 1,000 crore and Axis Bank Rs 700 crore last year to Gitanjali Gems of Choksi. According to another source, officials of country’s largest lender State Bank of India have been called for interrogation.
Nirav Modi and Choksi both are alleged to have scammed the state-run Punjab National Bank along with ICICI and Axis bank with Rs 11,300 crore + 1000 crore + 700 crores now. They have since fled away from the country.
Vipul Chitalia vice president of Gitanjali Group of Companies was arrested on Tuesday in correlation with Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case.
Earlier in Today, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) took into custody Chitalia at the Mumbai airport for inquiring.
The investigating agency also added that the news on, regarding the summoning of chief managing directors of private banks in the PNB fraud case is incorrect.
The CBI sent Manish Bosamiya, Miten Pandya, Sanjay Rambhia and Aniyath Shiv Raman Nair in the police custody on Monday till March 17 in the case.
