Some high-profile executives have quit the board of Nirav Modi’s Firestar International, which has become embroiled in the alleged fraud at Punjab National Bank said to have been perpetrated by the jeweller, his uncle Mehul Choksi and their companies.They include Sanjay Rishi of American Express, former PepsiCo executive Gautham Mukkavilli and former Wipro CFO Suresh Senapaty, said two people with direct knowledge of the matter. Former Facebook India MD Kirthiga Reddy, who was on the US senior advisory board of Firestar, has also resigned. Reddy, who wasn’t on the statutory board of directors at Firestar, relocated to Facebook in the US in a senior role two years ago.“The board members have quit following the fraud,” said one of the people.There was no response to emails sent to Rishi and Reddy seeking comment. Calls and text messages to Mukkavilli and Senapaty did not elicit any response.Modi’s flagship Firestar International has offices in Mumbai, Surat, New York, Chicago and Antwerp. It also has more than 20 subsidiaries including Firestar Diamond International and Firestar Diamond FZE Co, according to its website.On Tuesday, Firestar Diamond Inc, Modi’s international jewellery business, filed for bankruptcy in the US.Formerly South Asia president at American Express, Rishi relocated to the US in April last year and is currently executive vice-president and general manager at the firm.His role includes focussing on inorganic growth opportunities for the American Express consumer card business and overseeing the payments and loyalty businesses in India.63118961

In 2016, he joined the board of restaurant reservation platform EazyDiner Pvt Ltd.Mukkavilli, member of the Genesis Foundation Advisory Board, served as senior vicepresident (strategy and business transformation) for PepsiCo Asia, Middle East and North Africa, in his last role till mid-2016. He was associated with PepsiCo for more than two decades in various roles across markets.Senapaty, who was chief financial officer at Wipro from January 1995 to March 2015, has been non-executive chairman of CimplyFive Corporate Secretarial Services and chairman of WMNetServ (UK), non-executive independent director at HealthCare Global Enterprises Ltd and independent director at Milk Mantra Dairy.In 2016, software solutions company Honeywell Automation named Senapaty as additional director (non-executive, independent), and chairman of the board. Celebrity endorser Priyanka Chopra has reportedly ended her contract as brand ambassador with Modi in the wake of the fraud, which PNB has pegged at over Rs 12,600 crore.