Gold loan fraud worth ₹6.71 cr. found in Central Bank of India’s Machilipatnam branch

The bank’s appraiser had allegedly enabled 68 persons get loans by pledging gold imitation jewellery

Police on Wednesday registered a case against a gold appraiser of Central Bank of India’s Chilakalapudi branch in Krishna district in connection with a ₹ 6.71 crore gold loan fraud.

The Chilakalapudi police led by Circle Inspector M. Venkata Narayana have registered the case against the gold appraiser Macherla Satya Vara Prasad, based on a written complaint lodged by Vinod Pophale, Senior Regional Manager (Central Bank of India, Vijayawada). The Machilipatnam-based accused has been serving as a Gold Appraiser for the bank since 1998.

All that glitters

The complaint signed by Mr. Pophale states: “The gold, which was appraised by Mr. Satya Vara Prasad and pledged by 68 individuals, has been found fake (imitation jewellery) during the internal investigation done in the first week of March. Many individuals who reportedly pledged the fake gold and obtained the loan against it did not turn up for the preliminary investigation. However, some individuals have denied obtaining the gold loan during the investigation.”

In early March, the bank authorities have reappraised the gold pledged by its customers on a tip that many individuals have obtained loans by pledging fake gold with the support of the appraiser.

Investigation on

The bank authorities sought the police action to register the case over the fraud, finding a legal way to recover the amount. “We have registered cases against the appraiser and investigation is on,” Mr. Venkata Narayana told The Hindu .