<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">The Central Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday arrested Vipul Chitalia, vice president of banking operations at the Gitanjali Group of Companies, in connection with the alleged scam involving the Punjab National Bank.&nbsp;</span></div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><br />''</div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">After investigators called him the mastermind of the Rs 12,703-crore fraud, a special CBI court remanded him in the agency's custody till March 17.</div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><br />''</div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">The CBI had detained Chitalia at Mumbai airport for questioning today.&nbsp;</div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><br />''</div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">Meanwhile, senior officials from Axis Bank led by deputy managing director V Srinivasan today appeared before the Serious Fraud Investigation Office – SFIO in Mumbai.&nbsp;</div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><br />''</div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">SFIO is investigating the case in which 5280 crore rupees of working capital was given to Mehul Choksi's Gitanjali Group by a consortium of 31 banks including Axis Bank.&nbsp;</div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><br />''</div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">ICICI Bank, with a loan of Rs 405 crore, was a lead banker in this consortium; while Axis Bank had major exposure too.&nbsp;</div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><br />''</div>''<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">The SFIO, which is under the Corporate Affairs Ministry, has written to each of these banks which have either loaned money to the scam-tainted firms or extended any services.</div>''<div class="yj6qo" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"></div>''<div class="adL" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"></div>