A SHOCKING gold loan scam has come to light at ICICI Bank in Nagpur, where fake gold ornaments were used to cheat the bank of more than Rs 23 crore. What started as a routine audit soon exposed a wellplanned fraud involving bank officials, valuers and a whopping 159 account holders across nine branches. According to police, the complaint was filed by Dhananjay Ramesh Thite (49), Zonal Head at the ICICI Bank Zonal Office, Ajni Square, Wardha Road. The bank provides loans to customers against pledged gold ornaments. Before approving such loans, the gold is checked for purity and weight by bank-appointed valuers, and loans are sanctioned as per fixed guidelines. The fraud came to light during a routine ‘Gold Loan Audit’ conducted at the bank’s Manish Nagar branch.

 

During the inspection, officials discovered that the gold ornaments pledged by some customers were not genuine but counterfeit. This prompted the complainant to order a detailed audit of gold loan accounts across multiple branches. During the expanded audit, it was found that as many as 159 account holders from nine different branches had taken loans by pledging fake gold ornaments. The investigation revealed that the fraud had been going on for nearly three years, from January 2023 to October 2025. Police said the fraud was not limited to customers alone. It involved a larger conspiracy with the alleged collusion of several individuals, including account holder Sachin Raut, valuer Nandu Kharwade, auditors Rajendra Shilankar, Pramod Tete, and Dhananjay Dhomne, as well as Branch Manager Pankaj Kekatpure. In addition, around 152 other account holders are also suspected to be part of the scam. The accused allegedly worked together to falsely present fake gold ornaments as genuine during the verification process. By doing so, they managed to secure loans from the bank which resulted in a huge financial loss.

 

The case highlights a serious breach of trust within the banking system and involvmennt of officials responsible for verification and auditing. Based on the complaint, Dhantoli Police has registered a case against the accused under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including Sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant or banker), 420 (cheating), 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating), 120(B) (criminal conspiracy), and 34 (common intention). Police officials said that further investigation is underway to identify the full extent of the fraud and to determine the role of each accused person.