The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Crime Branch has arrested an SBI official from Bhubaneswar for allegedly misappropriating Rs 5.21 crore by sanctioning 105 gold loans without proper documentation or receiving original gold ornaments.
The accused, Prashant Kumar Mallick, worked as a senior associate-cum-cash-in-charge at SBI Balichandrapur branch in Jajpur. EOW said Mallick had been working in the SBI’s Balichandrapur branch since June 2022. He was absconding for the last several months after the fraud was discovered.
The case was registered on February 10, 2026, based on a complaint filed by Peeyus Ranjan Swain, Regional Manager of SBI Jagatsinghpur. According to the complaint, between October 2024 and July 2025, Mallick, who had been serving as senior associate-cum-cash in-charge at the branch since June 2022, sanctioned and disbursed 105 gold loans totalling Rs 5,21,42,000 without proper documentation or genuine gold ornaments as security.
Mallick’s duties involved verifying gold ornaments with the help of goldsmiths, ensuring eligibility and compliance of the required documents and recommending sanctioning of loans.
He was also tasked to maintain custody of executed loan documents and the pledged gold ornaments.The fraud came to light during the routine visit of senior officials to the bank in 2025, when Mallick failed to produce the gold loan files before them. After discovery of fraud, he subsequently fled.
The fraud came to light during a routine visit by Chief Manager Manorama Rout from SBI Balasore in 2025. Mallick failed to produce the relevant gold loan files and absconded without notice.
Suspecting irregularities, Rout ordered an immediate spot audit followed by a detailed internal probe. The investigation revealed that out of the 105 accounts, 31 involved pledging of spurious or fake gold ornaments, while 74 loans were sanctioned without any gold security at all.
Several loan files were found to be incomplete, missing critical documents such as goldsmith valuation reports, and contained forged signatures of borrowers.
The bank officials conducted an audit of gold loan accounts and carried out a detailed internal investigation. They found that Mallick had fraudulently processed 105 gold loan accounts.
Of them, 31 accounts involved pledging of fake gold ornaments and 74 accounts were sanctioned without receiving any gold ornaments.The bank officials then lodged a complaint with the EOW in this regard. The EOW started investigation and the big fraud was discovered.
