348 tolas of gold replaced with fake; bank cashier arrested

Faisalabad: A cashier of the Punjab Provincial Cooperative Bank Limited (PPCBL) and a jeweller have been arrested by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for allegedly swapping gold jewelry worth more than Rs 53 million with forged and lightweight jewelry via the bank's Gold Finance Scheme.

As per the report of the FIA, the two accused have been identified as Abdul Razzaq, who is a cashier at PPCBL MamuKanjan branch located in Faisalabad district, and Tahir Mahmood, an approved jeweler on the bank’s panel.

Both were apprehended in the course of a raid operation directed by FIA Faisalabad Zone Director Saqib Sultan.

The FIA said a case has been booked against the suspects under various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947, and the Pakistan Penal Code. Relevant bank records have been seized in this connection.

Preliminary investigations found several discrepancies in the pledged gold of the bank. It was discovered that a total of 17 bags comprising about 508 grams of pledged gold went missing.

It was also revealed through further inquiries that 36 cases comprising nearly 1,376.5 grams of forged gold were present. While, six cases included about 244 grams of partly forged gold. Further, there were 48 cases comprising 1,742.5 grams of gold that was underweight.

According to the FIA, 4,056 grams (about 348 tolas) of fake or underweight gold were found, resulting in a total loss of Rs53.36 million to the bank.

Further investigations are ongoing, with more facts expected to emerge, according to the FIA spokesperson.