Appraiser of private bank among three held for ₹1.5 crore gold loan fraud

The Peenya police have arrested three individuals, including a bank appraiser, for allegedly defrauding a private bank of approximately ₹1.5 crore through the issuance of gold loans on the basis of counterfeit jewellery and bogus bank accounts. The prime accused, along with an associate, allegedly conspired with the appraiser to carry out the scheme.

They reportedly created multiple fake bank accounts in the names of acquaintances and convinced people to open accounts by offering them money, promising to pledge their jewellery for loans. The appraiser, responsible for verifying the gold pledged for the loans, allegedly certified imitation jewellery as genuine, allowing the accused to obtain loans based on false valuations.

Based on the appraiser's valuation, the bank sanctioned loans totaling around ₹1.5 crore, enabling the accused to siphon off the funds. The fraud was uncovered during an internal audit conducted by the bank, which detected discrepancies in the pledged gold and loan accounts. The prime accused contacted a businessman named Jagadisha S., offering to purchase the pledged gold at a significantly lower price, falsely assuring him that it could be sold at a higher price later.

After receiving ₹1.53 crore from Jagadisha, the prime accused deposited the money into the bank to avoid legal consequences and subsequently fled the scene. Jagadisha, upon discovering the deception, reported the incident to the Peenya police, leading to the arrest of the prime accused and his associate. The appraiser was also detained for questioning based on their confessions.

The police suspect that the trio created around 15 fake accounts and defrauded the bank of the stated amount.