One more gold loan fraud has been reported in banks. This time the fraud has been reported from Panchkula, Haryana.
A man took a gold loan of approximately ₹13.25 lakh by pledging fake gold jewellery to India’s largest public sector bank – State Bank of India (SBI).
Throughout the tenure of loan, no discrepancy was observed. The matter came to light when the loan turned NPA. The bank held an auction to sell the gold and recover money but this turned out to be a big shock to the bank employees. On Auction, the gold was found to be fake and ultimately the bank manager has filed a case against the goldsmith and the accused loan borrower.
Police FIR and Loan Details
Kushan Kumar Saurabh, manager of the State Bank of India (SBI) in Pinjore, Panchkula, has filed a complaint with the police, stating that Sandeep, son of Balbir, a resident of Patel Nagar, Hisar, took a gold loan from the bank.
The accused first visited the bank on October 10, 2024, with gold bangles. Panel goldsmiths Anmol Bansal and Harish Bansal were called to inspect the gold items. The panel goldsmiths confirmed the items as genuine. Based on this confirmation from the goldsmith, the bank sanctioned a gold loan of ₹4,30,000.
What’s more shocking is that the loan was taken thrice by the borrower but nobody could identify the issues with the gold.
The accused visited Bank again on November 16, 2024 to take another gold loan. The bank again called in panel-authorized goldsmiths Anmol Bansal and Harish Bansal. After inspection, they declared the gold genuine. The bank again sanctioned Sandeep a loan of ₹448,000. Similarly, the bank issued a third loan on December 13, 2024.
Loan Turned NPA
Soon the accused borrower stopped depositing money in his loan account and the loan account ultimately turned NPA. The bank auctioned the gold and the bank auctioneer, Laxmi Jewellers, inspected the gold. The jewellers found that the gold was merely gold-plated, leaving everyone shocked.
This incident has raised a very serious question on the functioning and structure of Banks. How can a goldsmith cheat India’s largest public sector bank? This incident states that banks need to place a more strict check on gold loans.
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