Chennai Police arrest eight in ₹63.39 lakh fake gold loan scam at Canara Bank
The Central Crime Branch (CCB) of the Chennai City Police has arrested eight individuals, including five bank-approved gold appraisers, in connection with a fraud that caused a loss of ₹63.39 lakh to Canara Bank. The accused are alleged to have pledged counterfeit gold ornaments to secure loans from the bank's Shenoy Nagar branch.
According to the police, the case was registered by the Bank Fraud Investigation Wing of the CCB based on a complaint from the Deputy General Manager of Canara Bank's Regional Office in Chennai. The complaint stated that several borrowers, in collusion with the bank's empanelled gold appraisers, had pledged fake gold jewellery to obtain loans and subsequently defaulted on repayment, resulting in financial loss to the bank.
Investigations revealed that the accused conspired with bank personnel and gold appraisers to obtain 22 gold loans by presenting fake jewellery as genuine. The loans, totalling ₹63.39 lakh, were sanctioned based on false valuations provided by the appraisers.
The first three accused — Bhoominathan, 44, his wife Reegambigai, 42, and Nagalakshmi, 44, all residents of Anna Nagar East — were arrested on June 29. Following further investigation, five Canara Bank-approved gold appraisers were arrested on Wednesday. They were identified as Senthilkumar, 46, of Kodungaiyur; Shanmugam, 46, of Choolaimedu; Chandrasekaran, 60, of Triplicane; Sankarapandian, 60, of Triplicane; and Sivakumar, 53, of Kolathur. All were produced before a court and remanded in judicial custody.
The police said efforts are under way to trace the remaining accused, who are currently on the run. The investigation is ongoing.
