Nairobi — Victoria Commercial Bank (VCB) has refuted claims that its chief executive officer, Yogesh Pattni, was arrested by the Anti-Banking Fraud Unit, describing the statement as misleading.

This comes after news circulated on social media platforms as well as local dailies that the VCB boss had allegedly been arrested on Monday at his Two Rivers office over links with beleaguered sugar mogul Jaswant Singh Rai.

"We want to explicitly state that these reports are baseless, without merit and intended to harm VBC's hard-earned standing in the banking industry," read a statement by the bank.

The publications sought to link the VCB with Rai, reporting that he holds the largest shares in the CBK-listed VCB through proxies, a statement that the bank has since refuted.

"Mr. Jaswant Rai is not and has never been a shareholder of the bank, directly or as alleged, through proxies," added a statement by VCB.

A cross-check by Capital Business reveals that the bank, which maintains five branches in Nairobi, has listed Pattni, who played a key role in founding the bank, as one of its shareholders with a stake of 13.02 percent, alongside Kingsway Investments, Orchid Holdings, Rochester Holdings, and seventy-four others who hold a total of 62.56 percent of the privately owned lender.