Sebi investigates potential law violations by senior management at IndusInd Bank

Markets regulator Sebi is looking into any "egregious violations" by senior management of IndusInd Bank, which has been hit by accounting fraud, its chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey said on Thursday.

Pandey said the issues at IndusInd Bank will be dealt with by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), but Sebi is also looking at securities market violations by the officials of the crisis-hit bank.

"RBI is looking into whatever Sebi has to do in relation to... whatever Sebi's remit is... Sebi is doing... If there are any egregious violations by anyone in their capacity, Sebi is looking into it," Pandey told reporters on the sidelines of an event organised by industry body Assocham.

On Wednesday, IndusInd Bank's board said it suspects involvement of certain employees in the fraud and directed the bank to report the matter to investigative agencies and regulatory authorities.

Fraud in the derivatives and microfinance portfolio as well as balance sheet disclosures have rattled the private sector bank. The bank, that has seen top-level resignations, has ordered an internal audit review and is undergoing a forensics probe.

The internal audit report of the bank revealed "involvement of senior Bank officials, including former Key Management Personnel (KMP), in overriding key internal controls".

The bank has reported likely involvement of the senior management in the accounting fraud to the central government.

On April 29, CEO Sumant Kathpalia and Deputy CEO Arun Khurana resigned from the bank, following which IndusInd Board appointed a Committee of Executives to oversee the operations of the bank, till a new MD and CEO assume charge.