SAHIWAL: Banking Crime Court Special Judge Khalid Arshad has rejected the bail pleas of two former officers of the Punjab Provincial Cooperative Bank (PPCBL), Harappa branch, who were indicted in a Rs16.5 million gold fraud case.

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had arrested the officials on April 25, 2025.

The court dismissed the bail applications of former bank manager Amanat Ali and operations manager Nouman Akram. Both were booked by the FIA under sections 467, 468, 471, 477, 409, 109 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), and Section 5(2)(47) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, on the complaint of Tanveer Hussain. However, the court extended the interim bail of cashier Faryal Mumtaz until July 20.

Reports say local accomplice Imran Nazir has already secured bail from the Lahore High Court.

The FIA case is a continuation of the Rs16.5m gold scam in which seven PPCBL employees were accused of replacing genuine pledged gold with counterfeit items of similar weight. Harappa police had initially registered a case on June 22, 2025.

Police said the fraud came to light after a bank client, Sajid Bashir, who had pledged gold to secure a loan in 2023, repaid Rs566,096 in February 2025 and requested the return of his gold. The branch manager repeatedly delayed the handover, claiming that the goldsmith was on leave. On suspicion, Sajid filed a written complaint with the bank’s zonal chief on April 8.

Following the complaint, Deputy Zonal Chief Awas Khalid was tasked with the inquiry. On April 9, he identified discrepancies in the gold locker records. Subsequently, a Lahore-based audit team, along with a goldsmith from the Okara branch, conducted a surprise inspection on April 17.

They found that 15 out of 113 cotton bags had been tampered with and replaced with 533 grams of counterfeit gold.

The audit concluded that the branch manager, goldsmith, and other staff members had colluded in the fraud. Based on these findings, Harappa police registered the case against the seven employees.

After the scam, more than 11 affected clients have submitted complaints to the FIA Faisalabad office. These cases are now being pursued in various courts. Advocate Imran Kharal is representing the complainants in the FIA proceedings.

Published in Dawn, July 17th, 2025