FAISALABAD: The Federal Investigation Agency arrested a bank cashier and a jeweler for replacing pledged gold worth more than Rs53 million with fake and underweight jewelry in Faisalabad.
According to the FIA, the suspects are Abdul Razzaq, a cashier at the Punjab Provincial Cooperative Bank Limited’s MamuKanjan branch, and Tahir Mahmood, an approved jeweller on the bank’s panel.
The arrests took place during an operation conducted on the directions of FIA Faisalabad Zone Director Saqib Sultan. Subsequently, investigators registered a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947, and relevant provisions of the Pakistan Penal Code.
The FIA also seized bank records to support the ongoing investigation. Initial findings revealed major irregularities in the gold pledged under the bank’s Gold Finance Scheme.
Investigators found that 17 bags containing nearly 508 grams of pledged gold were missing. Moreover, 36 cases involved approximately 1,376.5 grams of completely fake gold, while six cases contained around 244 grams of partially fake gold.
In addition, authorities discovered approximately 1,742.5 grams of underweight gold in another 48 cases. Overall, investigators detected 4,056 grams, or about 348 tolas, of fake or underweight gold.
According to the FIA, the fraud caused an estimated financial loss of Rs53.36 million to the bank. Meanwhile, investigators said the probe continues and more details may emerge during the investigation.
