Duo giving gold loans sans interest arrested

BENGALURU: The Economic Offences Wing of the Central Crime Branch (CCB) arrested two men who cheated the public by offering zero per cent interest on gold loans. The accused had opened a jewellery shop in Vidyaranyapura, advertising zero per cent interest on gold loans to attract the public. Believing the advertisement, many customers pledged their gold ornaments and took loans. The accused closed the shop and fled with gold and silver ornaments worth around Rs 1.8 crore. Around 1.4kg of gold ornaments and 5kg of silver were seized from the arrested duo, identified as Salaam and Ajith. When the victims pledged their ornaments, they were given only 50-60 per cent of the actual value of the pledged gold and were told not to redeem their jewellery for at least 11 months. During this period, the accused illegally sold the pledged gold to another jewellery shop in HRBR Layout, earning a profit of 40-50 per cent. Under this scheme, around 4kg of gold was misappropriated. After 11 months, the accused closed the shop and absconded, said an officer. Two weeks ago, the main accused arrested from his residence in Peenya. Preliminary probe revealed that the accused were involved in similar fraudulent activities in Dakshina Kannada district and Kerala.