Three Held for Gold Loan Bank Fraud in Kullu
The Kullu police have booked three people for allegedly fraudulently obtaining loans worth around Rs. 14.28 lakh from a private bank by mortgaging spurious gold. The case was registered on a complaint filed by the bank manager, who accused three people, including a woman, of having fraudulently availed loans by pledging fake gold as collateral.
Gold Loan Bank Fraud
One of them, a resident of Jarol village in Bandrol, received a loan of Rs. 3,58,600, while another from Jana received Rs. 5,37,700. The third person, a woman from Dalashni village, received a loan of Rs. 5,32,400. According to the complaint, the borrowers did not repay the loan, which was given in 2023. Later, it was discovered that the gold pledged as collateral was fake. This incident raised queries of whether banks are authenticating the pure gold content prior to loan release.
Banks verify gold by having it weighed and assessed by a jeweler or goldsmith, either in the presence of the customer or at the bank’s premises, according to financial analysts. The purity and value of the gold are checked before it is sealed, and the whole process is usually video recorded. In general, banks do not advance loans on gold that is less than 18 carat.
It still remains unknown whether the bank followed the usual verification procedures in this case. Officials have started interrogating people in banks to find out if something went wrong in the loan sanctioning process or not. The police have said that the further details related to the fraud will be unveiled soon and the investigation is going on.
