Editor’s Note
This article reports on a serious breach of trust in Gwalior, where customers’ gold held in a finance company’s lockers was allegedly swapped with counterfeit items. It highlights critical vulnerabilities in the safekeeping of high-value assets, even with established financial institutions.
Customers’ ‘gold’ is no longer safe even in the lockers of banks and finance companies. A major scandal has surfaced in a private finance gold loan company in Gwalior district of Madhya Pradesh, where customers’ ‘real gold’ was replaced with ‘fake gold’. Gold worth about 4 crore rupees belonging to 26 customers has been swapped in a fraudulent manner.
A scam worth crores has been uncovered in the gold kept by customers at the branch of Manappuram Gold Finance Limited located in Dabra, Gwalior, MP. Customers’ real gold has been replaced with fake gold and jewelry. Panic ensued as the matter came to light. According to preliminary sources, in an internal audit of the branch, real gold belonging to about 26 customers was swapped, valued at approximately four and a half crore rupees. Gold worth about 11 crore is pledged in this branch, out of which about 40 percent has been replaced with fake.
As per information, a branch of the private gold finance company Manappuram Limited is present in Dabra. Here, people pledge their gold and gold jewelry to take loans. The case involves replacing the gold kept by customers in the branch’s lockers with fake gold jewelry. Initially, real gold jewelry weighing about 4 kg 380 grams was replaced with fake. The matter came to light when a customer, after repaying the gold loan, went to the branch to collect his pledged gold jewelry. When his packet was brought from the locker, fake gold jewelry was found inside.
According to police sources, as soon as information about gold being swapped and fake gold being kept in the bank emerged, Manappuram Finance Company conducted an internal audit. In this audit, fake gold jewelry and gold were found in place of real gold in 26 packets kept in the locker. Police are investigating the matter. The bank is also conducting its own investigation. There are suspicions that employees of the company itself are involved in the gold scam.
As soon as information about the gold scam surfaced at the Dabra Manappuram Finance branch, panic spread from bottom to top. The company’s area manager and officers from the company’s internal vigilance reached the branch. A complaint has also been lodged with the police. According to sources, suspicion in the gold loan scam is revolving around bank manager Chandrabhan Kushwaha and assistant manager Vikas Sharma. The reason is that they hold the keys to the lockers. Police are interrogating them.
According to Dabra City Police Station In-charge Yashwant Goyal, a complaint has been filed about real gold kept against customers’ loans in Manappuram Finance Limited company being replaced with fake gold. The company officials themselves have informed the police. Investigation is underway in the matter. Complete data has been requested from the company. Interrogation is ongoing.
