The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Crime Branch has arrested two State Bank of India (SBI) officials for allegedly sanctioning loans worth ₹5.21 crore against fake and spurious gold ornaments.
The accused have been identified as Chandan Kumar Mahala and Debendra Niranjan Sahu. Mahala is currently posted as Chief Manager at SBI’s Administrative Office in Bhubaneswar, while Sahu is working as a Field Officer in Ankushpur.
The alleged fraud took place during 2024-25 at SBI’s Balichandrapur branch, where Mahala was serving as Chief Manager and Sahu as Senior Associate-cum-Cash In-charge.
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The case came to light after SBI Regional Manager, Jagatsinghpur, Peeyus Ranjan Swain, filed a complaint with the EOW in February this year. The Balichandrapur branch falls under his jurisdiction.
During the investigation, the EOW found that the accused officials had not verified the pledged gold ornaments through the bank’s empanelled gold valuers to check their purity.
According to investigators, Mahala allegedly sanctioned 87 gold loans worth ₹4.38 crore, while Sahu processed 16 gold loans worth ₹73.85 lakh. The total weight of the pledged gold shown in the records was 10,646.58 grams, but the ornaments were later found to be fake and of poor quality.
EOW officials said that out of at least 103 gold loans, 63 were sanctioned without any gold being deposited. They also found that several loan documents, including gold valuation reports, were missing. In addition, the signatures of borrowers were allegedly forged.
Earlier in April, the EOW had arrested Prashanta Kumar Mallick, the gold appraiser of SBI’s Balichandrapur branch, in connection with the same case.
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