Prayagraj Bank Loan Scam: 16 Booked for Using Fake Gold

A major loan fraud has been uncovered at a Prayagraj bank, where 16 individuals, including gold appraisers, are accused of using counterfeit gold to secure substantial loans.

Photograph: Kind courtesy anomalnaya/Pixabay

Key Points

Sixteen individuals, including two gold appraisers, are booked for alleged loan fraud involving counterfeit gold at a Prayagraj bank.
The fraud was uncovered during a routine re-verification process, revealing that the gold pledged as collateral was fake.
Internal audits exposed the discrepancy after initial assessments by bank-approved appraisers verified the gold's authenticity.
Police have launched an investigation into the matter, involving individuals from Prayagraj and Bhadohi.

Sixteen individuals, including two gold appraisers, were booked for allegedly securing loans worth lakhs of rupees against counterfeit gold from a bank in Prayagraj, officials said on Saturday.

Civil Lines Station House Officer (SHO) Ramashray Yadav said that following a complaint by the Regional Head and General Manager of Canara Bank, Pankaj Verma, an FIR was lodged under Section 318 (4) (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita on Friday.

According to the complaint, Vishnu Verma, a member of the bank's panel of gold appraisers, had initially verified the quality and purity of the gold pledged by the borrowers.

Based on his assessment, loans were sanctioned to 16 individuals. A second appraiser on the panel, Kaushal Kishore Verma, also reportedly submitted a verification report confirming the gold was genuine.

Discovery of the Fraud

The discrepancy came to light during a routine re-verification process mandated by bank guidelines. Internal audits conducted on July 3 and July 15, last year, by appraisers Sudhanshu Verma and Shiv Kumar Verma, respectively, revealed that the ornaments pledged were fake.

The names in the FIR include gold appraisers Vishnu Verma from Prayagraj and Kaushal Kishore from Sant Kabir Nagar. The other 14 accused consist of five individuals from Bhadohi and nine from Prayagraj. Police have initiated a probe into the matter.

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