A gold loan fraud case has been registered at the Jalalpor branch of Bank of Baroda in Gujarat’s Navsari district after fake gold ornaments were allegedly used to secure loans worth ₹18.49 lakh. Police have booked five individuals, including four borrowers and an approved gold valuer, on allegations of cheating, forgery and criminal conspiracy.
Loans Sanctioned on Valuer’s Certification
According to the case details, four customers applied for gold loans at the Jalalpor branch in 2022. The borrowers were identified as Rajesh Govind Parmar of Vijalpor, Navsari, Suresh Kavaldhari Yadav of Vijalpor Road, Navsari, Maulik Thakor Tandel of Jahangirpura, Surat, and Ramsingh Jagdish Nirmal of Ghelkhadi, Navsari.
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The applicants submitted ornaments claiming them to be gold jewellery. As part of the loan approval process, the ornaments were examined by authorised gold valuer Jitendrakumar Dhanji Korat.
It has been alleged that the valuer certified the jewellery as genuine gold and issued an appraisal memo supporting the valuation. Based on this certification, the branch sanctioned gold loans totalling ₹18,49,500 against 535.03 grams of jewellery.
Revaluation Finds No Gold in Ornaments
The alleged fraud came to light in December 2022 when the bank’s regional office ordered revaluation of loan accounts during routine audit checks. During the re-examination, the regional valuer raised suspicion over the authenticity of the ornaments.
The jewellery was then sent to a local testing laboratory in Navsari. The lab report found that the ornaments did not contain gold and were instead made of silver, copper, zinc, lead and nickel.
Investigators said the base metal ornaments had been covered with a thin gold coating and carried a counterfeit “22K 916” hallmark stamp to make them appear genuine.
Outstanding Amount Crosses ₹21 Lakh
After the findings, the bank initiated recovery proceedings and issued notices to the borrowers and the valuer, asking them to repay the outstanding amount. According to the complaint, most of the accused did not respond or repay the dues.
Only one borrower, Rajesh Parmar, deposited ₹2 lakh. With interest and other charges, the total outstanding amount has now increased to ₹21,39,256.
A formal complaint was later filed by the current branch manager of Bank of Baroda at Jalalpor police station. Police have registered a case against all five accused and are examining the financial trail, valuation process and possible procedural lapses in the loan approvals.
Authorities are also probing whether any bank employees or outside networks helped facilitate the alleged fraud. The case has raised concerns over internal checks in gold loan processing and the reliability of valuation systems used in banking operations.
