Top private bankers summoned in PNB fraud case

The Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) has approached other lenders which have exposure to the firms promoted by scam-tainted Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi to help in the agency's probe into the over Rs 12,000-crore PNB scam.

The SFIO is said to have asked senior executives from the 31 banks who have done business dealings with the firms promoted by Modi and Choksi to be present at its office in the financial capital, according to sources.

Even as sections of media reported that ICICI Bank managing director and chief executive Chanda Kochhar and her Axis Bank counterpart Shikha Sharma have been summoned, sources said as part of regular practice, the office of the bank head would have received such letters.

Leading exchange BSE has also sought clarification from the two banks on the reports.

Later, V Srinivasan, deputy managing director of Axis Bank, was seen exiting the SFIO office in south Mumbai.

"The officer concerned who dealt with the loan and knows the account better will help the probe," one of the sources said, refusing to confirm if the top executives have been requisitioned.

A slew of agencies, including the CBI and ministerial arms like the Enforcement Directorate as well as the SFIO, are probing the scam.

It is alleged that firms colluded with officials at a city branch of the state-run Punjab National Bank to clear letters of undertakings without proper diligence, resulting in the scam.