The investigative body has authorised them to send representatives in case they are not able to appear themselves.
Stocks of private banks, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank were off the day’s high points as investors turned cautious of developments related to Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam.
Multiple media houses reported that ICICI Bank CEO, Chanda Kochchar and Axis Bank MD Shikha Sharma, were summoned by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO).
The investigative body has authorised them to send representatives in case they are not able to appear themselves.
A clarification regarding these reports have been sought by BSE from ICICI Bank as well as Axis Bank.
The developments come in the centre of a scam involving PNB, with the fraud amount of over Rs 12,000 crore based on fraud letters of undertaking (LoUs). The bank had alleged that two of its officials had issued the forged LoUs, which allowed the Gitanjali group and Nirav Modi group of companies to borrow money from overseas banks, with PNB as the guarantor of the loans.
The Enforcement Directorate, one of the investigating bodies, told Moneycontrol that Choksi and Modi diverted money to related companies. The ED has also traced some of the money being routed back to the banks for re-issuing letter of undertaking, or LoUs.
A consortium of 31 banks led by ICICI Bank has loans close to Rs 5,200 crore to Mehul Chokshi's Gitanjali Group. Nirav Modi firms Stellar Diamond and Solar Exports and Diamonds have together borrowed close to Rs 4,000 crore from banks.
Separately, the ED is also investigating the planned listing of Choksi's Nakshtra World, and Modi's Firestar International.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is hoping to recover Rs 3,000-4,000 crore from the real estate assets seized from Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi, sources told Moneycontrol.
